


Cerchie Familiari

by Echele78



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, Blood and Injury, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Guns, Gunshot Wounds, Headaches & Migraines, Hurt/Comfort, Husbands, Implied/Referenced Major Character Death, Kidnapping, M/M, Malec, Medical Jargon, Medical Procedures, Minor Character Death, Pain, Panic Attacks, Physical Harm, Restraints, Sizzy - Freeform, Sleep Deprivation, Violence, Whumptober 2020, clace
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:02:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 31
Words: 38,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26741824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Echele78/pseuds/Echele78
Summary: The Circle Crime Syndicate is out for revenge and their own brand of justice. Their leader, Malachi Dieudonne, has been sentenced to life in prison and they want him out. What will they do to force his release and who will pay the price for standing in their way?
Relationships: Alec Lightwood & Catarina Loss, Alec Lightwood & Isabelle Lightwood, Alec Lightwood & Jace Wayland, Clary Fray & Alec Lightwood, Clary Fray & Isabelle Lightwood, Clary Fray & Simon Lewis, Clary Fray/Jace Wayland, Magnus Bane & Catarina Loss, Magnus Bane & Isabelle Lightwood, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Simon Lewis/Isabelle Lightwood
Comments: 175
Kudos: 91
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	1. Let's Hang Out Sometime

**Author's Note:**

> This is created for the Whumptober 2020 event. Each chapter will fill one or more prompts for the corresponding day. Chapter specific tags will be listed in this space on each individual chapter. This will be one continuous story. None of the descriptions of violence, wounds, etc will be extremely graphic in any chapter.
> 
> Prompt Filled for this chapter: WAKING UP RESTRAINED
> 
> Chapter Tags: Restraints, Gagged, Rope Burn, Nausea, Headache, Dizziness

**MONDAY**

He cracks one eye open. He can barely see in the dim light of the room. He opens his other eye, hoping that will help him figure out where he is. He’s lying on a dirty, smelly, full-sized mattress in a room with old floral wallpaper that is peeling off the walls and wood floors that need way more than a buff and shine. The one window in the room is mostly boarded over; with a beam of light streaming in through the grimy strip of window he can see to one side of the board. He doesn’t recognize anything he can see. 

As he takes stock of his body, he tries to sit up. He realizes his hands are bound behind his back with what feels like some sort of natural fiber rope because it’s rough and already cutting into his wrists. The abrasions are burning and every time he moves the rope digs in a little bit more.

Despite the ropes, he struggles into a sitting position. He can’t tolerate the smells that are emanating from the mattress. God knows what any of the stains are or what kind of fluids have been absorbed into it. The effort of sitting up has made him dizzy. The dizziness combined with the rancid, putrid scents that he has inhaled turns his stomach. He feels like he’s going to vomit but thankfully, when he does retch, it’s only a dry heave because there is a gag in his mouth. He shudders to think what could be on that cloth, whether it’s chloroform or just plain filth. If it’s anything like the mattress, he’s sure he doesn’t want to know.

His head is pounding and his stomach is continuing to churn. Even the smallest movement makes the nausea wash over him again so he tries to remain as still as possible. He absolutely does not want to vomit with a gag in his mouth. 

He doesn’t remember anything since he left the coffee shop this morning. He remembers leaving with his standard morning order. He always takes the shortcut down the alley between the coffee shop and the barber shop next to it. The alley takes him right to the front door of his office building. He remembers turning down the alley and then...nothing.

He studies the room again as he sits and tries to remember. He squeezes his eyes shut, willing the dizziness and pain in his head to stop. When he opens his eyes again, he sees the view from this angle isn’t much better than it was from the floor. There’s an old, worn out, wooden ladder back chair in one corner. It has four wide, horizontal rails along the back and a black faux leather upholstered seat. The finish on the dark wood has worn off in multiple places and the upholstery is torn in the middle revealing the cotton batting inside.

There are two doors in the room. He assumes the one nearest to the window is a closet. The door on the wall opposite of the window must lead to the rest of the house…apartment…hotel…he doesn’t have a clue what type of building he’s in.

He listens for any sounds coming from outside the window. He hears a subway train, some construction noise, and the sounds of kids playing. That doesn’t really narrow it down for him too much. He could be pretty much anywhere in Brooklyn or New York state for that matter...if he’s even in New York anymore. From _inside_ , however, he hears footsteps coming towards the door then a key being inserted into the lock. The door swings open to reveal a man he does not recognize.

The man smiles at him and says, “Ah, Judge Lightwood, I see you’ve awakened.”


	2. In the Hands of the Enemy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt Filled: KIDNAPPED
> 
> Tags: Guns, Restraints, Gagged, Headache, Dizziness, Nausea
> 
> NYPD = New York Police Department

* * *

  


Alec’s eyes go wide. This man obviously knows who he is. But why has he abducted him, tied him up and locked him in this room? Alec would ask those questions but the gag prevents him from doing more than mumbling.

The man moves towards him and Alec tries his best to get away from him but with his hands tied and his head still throbbing, he doesn’t get very far.

“I just want to talk to you. To do that, I need to remove your gag. That’s all I’m going to do right now, okay?” Alec still shies away as the man reaches around the back of his head and unties the gag.

Alec breathes in deeply after the gag is gone. He realizes his mistake in doing so when he gets a lung full of the same stagnant odors he’d been ‘enjoying’ for the past several minutes. He coughs and wheezes as he tries to rid his lungs of the offensive aroma. The stench is so thick he can taste it in his mouth, which makes him dry heave again.

He doubles over and the man leans over him and pats him on the back, “Are you okay?”

Alec manages to collect himself enough to hiss, “Don’t touch me,” as he glares at his captor.

The man backs off and puts his hands in the air in mock surrender. “I’m just trying to help; didn’t want you to die on me. You’re not worth anything dead.”

As the man backs away, Alec sits back up. His eyes are watering, his mouth is dry, he’s still nauseous, dizzy and has a throbbing headache. He sneers at the man. “Who are you? Where am I?”

“You can call me Aldertree. We’ll forgo the first name for now,” he says with an unwelcome wink to indicate that he truly believes he will get away with this. He brings over the chair from across the room and places it in front of Alec. He sits down and crosses his legs, looking so smarmy Alec wants to heave, again. “As for where you are…well, I can’t tell you that.”

“Why am I here? How did I get here?”

“You’re here because my boss needs you as leverage and maybe for a bit of payback. You see, you put a very important person away for life in prison and we want him out. As for _how_ you got here, well, that was thanks to my friends, me and the perfect strike of a Colt .45 to the back of your head. You really should be more careful walking around the city all alone. Anyone can grab you off the street and shove you into a panel van and no one cares.”

“Huh, that explains the headache,” Alec states as he rests his head against the wall behind him. “Who is your ‘very important person’?”

“Malachi Dieudonne.”

Alec raises his head and looks Aldertree straight in the eyes. Without hesitating he tells him, “No. I’m not doing anything to set him free. It took years to capture him and finally bring him to justice. I won’t undo all of that work just to have him back in charge of The Circle Crime Syndicate. It’s not gonna happen. Besides, I’m sure my phone is being tracked as we speak. I won’t be here long,” Alec says, a little too confidently.

“Are you sure about that? Do you really think we would leave your phone on you?” Aldertree enquires with a scoff. “If they _are_ able to track it, the only thing they’ll find is the bottom of the East River.”

And with that, Alec knows help is not on the way. Not right now at least but he has faith in the NYPD. He knows they will search for and find him. He just has to wait this guy, this ‘Aldertree’, out. Give the NYPD time to do their job. “Maybe so but I’m not going to set Dieudonne free.”

“Come now,” Aldertree says. “Don’t make this worse for yourself than it has to be.”

Alec just glares at him.

“Fine. Have it your way. I’m a patient man. Let’s see how long you can last here. I’ve got all day.”


	3. My Way or the Highway

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts Filled: MANHANDLED, FORCED TO THEIR KNEES, HELD AT GUNPOINT
> 
> Trigger Warning: Blood (just a little bit)
> 
> Tags: Guns, Violence, Physical Harm, Headache, Injuries, Restrained

* * *

  


It seems like hours have gone by. All the while, Aldertree has sat there silently, watching every breath Alec takes. He hasn’t asked again about freeing Dieudonne. He wasn’t kidding when he said he was a patient man.

They both look towards the door when it slams open. “What the hell is taking so long?!?!?” screams a younger, blond male with a British accent.

Nonplussed, Aldertree looks towards the man. “Calm down. There’s no need for dramatics. We’re not in a hurry.”

“My fa-“ he stops and clears his throat. Was he going to say ‘father’? Alec isn’t positive but it sure sounded that way. The man continues after he catches himself, “The boss has given us until midnight Thursday to get this done but let’s just do it and get it over with. The sooner, the better.”

“Why rush? Dieudonne isn’t going anywhere.” Aldertree is still calm, cool and collected. Alec doesn’t think anything can ruffle that guy’s feathers.

“All I know is, we have a deadline. You know they don’t always give me all the information.”

Aldertree looks to Alec and indicates towards blond man as he says, “That’s probably a good idea. Morg-“

He’s cut off mid-word by the blond. “Verlac. Last names only, _remember_.” Verlac widens his eyes and cocks his head at Aldertree as if to remind him of that obvious rule.

“Ah, yes, forgive me. Verlac…” he pauses for emphasis then looks back to Alec, “Verlac gets a bit…heated?...at times so, to keep confidential information confidential, he is told things on a strict, need-to-know basis.” He looks to Verlac once more, “I’m sure you understand.”

Verlac shrugs. “I’m very passionate about my work,” he says to Alec.

Alec can’t believe this conversation is going on in front of him. He thought Dieudonne ran a stricter operation than this. Then again, Dieudonne isn’t here so it’s hard to tell who “The Boss” is now. “I don’t care about your deadline or who your boss is, I’m not releasing Dieudonne. He deserves to rot in prison and that’s what he’s going to do,” Alec states to the pair of them.

Without warning, Alec sees Verlac move towards him like lightning, right arm raised, with a pistol in his hand. Verlac brings the grip of the pistol down to collide with the left side of Alec’s head, on his temple. Alec's vision flashes white and he sees stars as he topples over onto his right side, landing on his face, onto the disgusting mattress again. 

Alec hears footsteps then feels the mattress give a bit, as if someone has stepped on the edge. “There’s the passion he was telling you about." Aldertree sighs. "Better get a move on with this then before he becomes much more passionate.” Aldertree has leaned down so close to him, Alec can hear the smirk in his slimy voice. The mattress moves again as Aldertree backs away. “Get him up and we'll make the call,” he tells Verlac.

It sounds like footsteps moving towards the door then Alec hears Verlac yell, “Underhill! Get in here!”

Alec feels multiple hands grab him to sit him back up. God, now his head is really pounding. He feels a wet, sticky substance, which he can only guess is blood, running down the left side of his face and neck. He looks up to see another, different blond man. This must be Underhill. He meets Underhill’s eyes and Alec thinks he sees something like…regret, trepidation or maybe even dread, he’s not sure. The look leaves Underhill’s face as soon as Aldertree speaks. “Bring him over here. On his knees.”

Verlac and Underhill manhandle Alec, dragging him into the center of the room, forcing him painfully onto his knees. Once they have him in position, Verlac digs a phone out of his pocket and hands it to Underhill.

“What am I supposed to do with this?” Underhill asks.

“You’re going to be our expert camera operator,” Verlac replies. He moves to Alec’s left side and places the barrel of his handgun against Alec’s injured temple.

Aldertree steps up to Alec’s right. “Now, make sure you get Judge Lightwood fully in frame but don’t show our faces.” Aldertree rests his hand on Alec’s shoulder and pats him, “Alright, Judge, are you ready for your close-up?”


	4. Running Out of Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt Filled: RUNNING OUT OF TIME
> 
> Trigger Warning: Blood (two quick mentions)
> 
> Tags: Guns, Violence, Physical Harm, Injuries, Restrained

* * *

  
From somewhere in the room a phone starts ringing. It takes Izzy a minute to realize that it’s _her _phone. It takes her another minute to locate said phone, which is under piles of subpoenas, depositions and witness statements. By the time she digs her phone out, it has stopped ringing. She's about to put it back down when it starts again. It's a video call from an unknown number. That isn’t odd. As an attorney, she receives all kinds of calls from new, potential clients.__

____

____

Thinking nothing of it, she swipes the screen to accept the call and is met with an image she’s only ever seen in her nightmares. There is her brother, on his knees, hands behind his back, head down, a cut on the side of his head that is bleeding freely down the side of his face and neck. To make it worse, the barrel of a pistol is pressed against his temple. He's flanked by two people she can't identify; their faces not within the camera's field of view.

“Ms. Lightwood, I presume?” asked a disembodied voice. 

Izzy totally ignores the question and instead screams, “Alec?!? ALEC!!!!" She is almost into hysterics immediately. "Are you alright!? Where are you!? What happened!?” 

Alec raises his head up to look into the camera which only makes it worse for Izzy. “Oh my god, Alec, what have they done to you!?” Her voice shakes and cracks as she stares at the bloody and bruised face of her brother.

“I’m alright, Iz. Don’t do any-," the rest of his statement is cut off with an ‘oomph’ as the other headless person brings the gun down on Alec, right where his neck connects to his shoulder.

“Shut up. It’s our time to talk now.”

“That’s enough,” the first voice commands sternly to the second. “Now, as I was saying, Ms. Lightwood, we would very much like your help with a little favor.”

“Isabelle? Is everything alri-," the question dies on Magnus’ lips when he sees her face. Her eyes are glassy with tears that are about to spill over. She looks at her brother-in-law as he stands in the doorway to her office and she shakes her head slightly. He comes into the room and around her desk to look at the screen of her phone.

He is not prepared for what he sees. He gasps a ragged breath, “Alexander.” He grabs Izzy’s forearm for support, for both of them. “What’s happened? Where are-“

“I’m afraid Ms. Lightwood has already asked those questions. The answers will come in due time. Right now you’re going to listen to us.”

“Who are you?” Magnus asks. “Show your faces."

“You don’t need to see our faces to hear our demands.”

“What demands? What could we possibly have that would necessitate what you have done to Alec?”

“It’s not what you have; it’s who you can get.”

Magnus and Izzy look at each other, confusion clear on their faces. Looking back at the phone, Izzy says, “We don’t understand…who we can get??”

“Let me clear it up for you. Your brother and husband, the judge,” Aldertree says as he indicates to Alec with his hand, “was responsible for sentencing someone very important to me...to us…to life in prison. This sentence was passed down after _your _law firm made a very successful case against this person in court.”__

__Magnus is still confused. “Who are you talking about? We’ve had hundreds of successful trials.”_ _

__“Malachi Dieudonne. He is to be freed by midnight on Thursday. Mr. Lightwood has refused to overturn Dieudonne’s sentence and save himself so now it is up to you. If you miss this deadline, Mr. Lightwood dies.”_ _

__“But we don’t have the power to do that!” Izzy screams at the phone. The tears are falling down her cheeks now._ _

__“Well, I suggest you find someone who does.”_ _

__Alec raises his head again and looks at the phone. He knows his husband and sister are on the other side of that screen. “I love you bo-“. He’s cut off when a fist strikes across his already bloody cheek._ _

__“No one gave you permission to talk,” says the voice of the man with the gun._ _

__“You have until midnight Thursday. I expect a return call to this number to confirm Dieudonne's release. At that time, I will provide additional instructions.”_ _

__The call disconnects and the screen goes black._ _


	5. Where Do You Think You're Going?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt Filled: FAILED ESCAPE
> 
> Tags: Restrained, Rope Burn, Headache, Dizziness

* * *

  
**TUESDAY**

Alec wakes as a beam of morning sunlight moves across his eyes. He sits up quickly…a bit too quickly, judging by the dizzy spell and pounding of his head. He shades his eyes and looks around, remembering his grim reality.

After the call to Magnus and Izzy, his captors had removed the rope around his wrists and instead tied his ankle with the same type of rough, natural fiber rope to an anchor ring mounted on the floor. They left him alone after that but were sure to tell him that a guard would constantly be outside of his door. He had taken the opportunity to examine the room. He discovered that the door he thought was a closet was in fact, a bathroom. While he was alone he tried to look out of the small strip of window but it was so dark he couldn’t make out anything. Now this morning, his ankle is still tied and he’s still alone.

He manages to get up off the mattress and stand on his shaky legs. The rope cuts into the skin of his ankle every time he moves. He makes his way across the room to the bathroom. After he finishes there, he tries the window again. As he’s trying to peek through the crack between the board that’s covering the window and the window frame, the door to his room opens.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” It’s Verlac. 

“I’m not doing anything, just leaving the bathroom.”

“Hmmm. You better hope that’s all your doing. If you try something, we’ll hear you…and we’ll stop you. We’re right outside this door,” Verlac reminds him as he gestures to the door behind him.

“I know,” Alec acknowledges then pauses. “Can I talk to my husband? He’ll want proof that I’m still okay.”

Verlac scoffs at him as he scrunches his eyebrows together in disbelief. “You can’t be serious. You’ve done all the talking you’re going to do, unless of course, you’ve changed your mind about Dieudonne. I’ll bring you a phone for that.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Well then, remember, we’re right outside this door.”

“Believe me, I won’t forget.”

With that, Verlac leaves and Alec is alone again with nothing but a filthy mattress and tattered chair to keep him company.

♦♦♦♦

He slept for the rest of the morning and into the afternoon. No one has been back in the room for any reason. He hasn’t eaten anything since dinner the day before yesterday. He’s starving, even though he’s unsure if he’d eat anything that was brought to him.

To keep his mind off the growling of his stomach, he decides to inspect the window again. As he peeks out, he can tell that he’s in a house, in a neighborhood he doesn’t recognize (the small bit of it he can see anyway). 

His window is right above what appears to be a porch, of which the roof is right below him. Hope explodes in his chest. If he can pull the board off the window frame, maybe he could use a nail or screw or piece of glass to cut the rope. Once free, he could jump down to the porch roof, then to the ground and escape. He just needs to be quiet about it. He could probably pull the board free somewhat quietly then sit it on the floor, giving him time to somehow cut the rope. It may not be the best plan but it’s the only one he’s got.

He works his fingers into the space between the board and the window frame. It’s tight but he manages to get a grip on the board with both hands. He pulls with all the strength he has, and that’s where his plan goes awry. He fails to keep hold of the board when it comes loose and it crashes to the floor. Immediately, the door to his room bursts open as Verlac and Aldertree charge in.

“What did I tell you about trying to escape!?” seethes Verlac.

“Not to,” says Alec.

“Right. And now you’re going to pay for your disobedience.”


	6. Please...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts Filled: NO MORE & "STOP, PLEASE"
> 
> Trigger Warnings: Graphic Depiction of Violence, Blood
> 
> Chapter Tags: Violence, Physical Harm, Injuries, Fighting, Punching, Kicking, Blurred Vision, Loss of Consciousness

* * *

  
Verlac lunges towards him. He ducks under the punch and evades Verlac with a side-step towards the center of the room…right into Aldertree. Aldertree grabs Alec’s left arm and twists it violently behind his body, pulling Alec into his chest. Aldertree grabs his right arm next and now Alec can’t move at all. He’s at the mercy of these maniacs, and he’s pretty sure they’re short on mercy.

The glint in Verlac’s eyes is what scares Alec the most. After all his years on the bench as a judge, he’s seen plenty of criminals. Most of them stand before him for misdemeanors like petty theft or trespassing. The looks on their faces are usually guilt-ridden and apologetic. He gives them a fine and maybe a day or two in jail, depending, and he never sees them again. This is not the look he sees staring back at him now. This look is dead serious; dangerous and threatening. He knows he’s crossed a line and there is no going back now so when the first punch lands across his right cheek, he’s not surprised.

He _is_ surprised by the uppercut that follows. His teeth slam together and his head snaps back. Thankfully he’s taller than Aldertree so the back of his head doesn’t collide with Aldertree’s face. That also means there's nothing to absorb any of the impact so his neck overextends backwards. A shock goes down his arms as if a nerve may have been damaged.

He shakes his head to try to clear his vision, just in time to see another punch coming his way. Aldertree holds him still as Verlac lands a relentless barrage of punches to his head and torso; left hooks, jabs, right hooks, and finally, another uppercut. This time, the back of Alec’s head collides with Aldertree’s nose, making it bleed instantly, and Aldertree immediately releases him.

Alec wants to fight back now that his arms are free but he’s seeing three of Verlac and blood from a cut above his right eye is running into his eye, clouding his vision. Also impairing him is the rope still around his ankle that is tied to the ring on the floor and his arms are numb, either from being held behind his back or there really is some nerve damage in his neck. Verlac gives no quarter and lands a right hook to Alec’s left temple and Alec goes down on his knees. Verlac grabs Alec’s hair in both hands and smashes his right knee viciously into Alec’s face, causing Alec's nose to gush blood, then throws Alec onto the floor.

Aldertree has recovered and is an active participant in the beating now. He and Verlac are landing kicks all over Alec’s body. Alec's been kicked in both kidneys at least once. He curls up in a ball, pulling his legs into his chest and covering his head with his arms, trying to make himself a smaller target. However, the kicks don’t let up. All the while, his captors are saying things like, “Didn’t we tell you not to try to escape? This is what happens when you disobey. Are you going to do what we say now?”

At a small pause in the beating, Alec is able to manage a weak, “Stop, please.”

Aldertree puts a hand to Verlac’s chest to stop his movements and leans down to Alec. “Did you say something?”

“Stop, please. No more.” It takes all of Alec’s energy to get those four words out.

“You’re not going to give us anymore trouble are you?”

All Alec can do is barely shake his head ‘no’. He relaxes his arms and legs because he simply can’t hold them in place any longer. The movement causes a whimper to escape him.

“Alright, Verlac. He’s had enough. Help me get him to the mattress.”

They manage to wrestle his long body up from the floor and onto the mattress. When they put him down he groans in pain then passes out.

Verlac straightens up and shakes out his arms and hands. He also rolls his shoulders and neck to loosen everything up. He's proud of himself. “That should teach him a lesson.”

“Well, the boss isn’t going to be happy. You’re supposed to be working on your anger management.”

Verlac shrugs. “Like I said before, I’m passionate about my work.” 

Aldertree shakes his head in exasperation. “Board the window back up before you leave here. Make sure it’s secure this time then check on him later. Make sure he doesn’t die.”

Aldertree looks down to inspect his now disheveled dress shirt and tie. He sees blood splattered across both. "Damn it. This is a new tie." He sighs in resignation, shrugs, straightens the tie then leaves the room. Verlac gets to work on the window.


	7. I've Got You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt Filled: ENEMY TO CARETAKER
> 
> Chapter Tags: Medical Jargon and Procedures, Injuries, Dizziness

* * *

  
Something is burning his face. He tries to open his right eye but apparently, it’s swollen shut. He manages to crack his left eye open a bit and sees Underhill hovering over him with a rag in his hand. Alec tries to move away but every bone and muscle in his body protests his movement. He groans with the pain.

“Hey, don’t try to move too much, too fast. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m just here to check on you and clean you up a bit. You took a serious beating. You've been unconscious for hours,” Underhill tells him.

Alec relaxes slightly as Underhill brings the rag back to his face. The rag smells of some kind of antiseptic wound cleanser. “How bad is it?” Alec asks, as he lets Underhill resume his ministrations.

“You’ve got a large gash over your right eye. It’s black and blue. I’m sure you can tell it's swollen shut. There’s another cut on your left cheek, your nose and lip are busted, and you’ve got bruises all over. Do you think anything is broken?”

Alec makes small movements experimentally. “I don’t think so, but everything hurts.”

“I’m sure it does. This is going to burn again.” Underhill dabs the rag with antiseptic onto the gashes and cuts on Alec’s face. Alec hisses as the medicine seeps into the exposed subcutaneous layer of the cuts. 

“These really should be stitched up but I don’t have those supplies here so butterfly bandages will have to do.” He takes four bandages and applies two to each gash. “That’ll do for now. Do you think you can sit up if I help you?” he asks Alec.

“I don’t know. Maybe?”

“Let’s try. Here, take my hand.”

Alec grabs Underhill’s offered hand. Underhill pulls and with much pain and effort, Alec manages to help enough to make it into a sitting position. “Whoa, I need a minute. The room is spinning.”

“Alright, I’m gonna go get you a glass of water. Don’t try to move. I’ll be right back.”

Underhill goes to the bathroom then returns quickly with a glass of water. He takes a couple of pills out of his pocket. He sits down on his knees in front of Alec, handing the glass and the pills to him. “Here, take these.”

“What is it?” Alec asks.

“Just some ibuprofen. Hopefully it’ll take some of the edge off your pain.”

Alec acquiesces and takes the water and pills from Underhill. He swallows the pills down with a long gulp and hands the glass back. “Why are you being so nice to me? I’m sure Verlac and Aldertree don’t give a shit if I rot in here.”

“Well...I give a shit,” Underhill answers. “You don’t deserve what’s happening to you.”

“You’re not like them. Why are you here? Why do you follow them?” 

Underhill hesitates. “I can’t talk about that.”

It seems to Alec like Underhill wants to confide in him but for some reason he can’t. 

Underhill clears his throat, “I’ll be right back”. He stands up from his knees, then leaves the room, pulling the door shut behind him. Alec hears the lock click into place then footsteps fading as they move away from the door.

Alec doesn’t know where Underhill’s going or when he’ll be coming back, or especially, if he’ll be alone when he does. He’s personally seen enough of Verlac and Aldertree to last the rest of his life, which he hopes will be much longer.

It’s not five minutes and Underhill returns, this time carrying a tray with food. “I don’t know if you feel like eating but it would be good for you if you could eat something. It’ll give your body fuel to heal and help get some strength back.”

The smell of the food, some kind of soup or stew, wafts to his nose and his stomach growls. He remembers that he hasn’t eaten in more than 24 hours. “I am pretty hungry. I’ll try.”

Alec takes the tray and carefully balances it on his lap. Underhill takes a seat in the worn out chair. They sit in silence for a few minutes as Alec slowly eats. Finally, Underhill asks, “Why don’t you just do what they ask you to do? You’ve made this so much worse for yourself than it had to be. And now look at you.”

“I can’t give in to their demand just to save myself. It would go against everything I stand for, much less put a violent criminal back on the streets to lead his gang of murders and criminals. We worked too hard to put Dieudonne in prison. I won’t throw all of that away.”

Underhill sighs. “I understand your decision. I can tell your an honorable man with strong moral values. I admire that. I wish neither of us were in this predicament.”

Alec slowly eats some soup and thinks about their joint predicament. He breaks the silence to quietly tell Underhill, "I don't know what you're situation is, why you're here, going along with the Circle, but I want you to know, if I get out of here alive, I'd like to help you out of your predicament, as you call it...if you need it."

Underhill seems surprised at the offer. "I appreciate that, but it's not needed. I'm here of my own free will."

Alec studies him for a few moments, considering if he should press the subject. He decides against it and returns to eating his soup instead. He best not press his luck any further tonight. Once he's finished with his meal, Underhill stands from the chair then gathers the tray, making sure not to leave anything behind. Before he leaves the room Alec tells him, "Thank you for everything you've done for me. I hope it doesn't cause you any trouble."

Underhill half-laughs, "I'm just trying to keep you alive. I'd be in more trouble if you died, so don't try any more stunts like the one you did today. You may not be so lucky next time." He turns and leaves the room, leaving Alec alone with his thoughts, wondering if he is ever going to get out of this hellhole.


	8. Where Did Everybody Go?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt Filled: ABANDONED
> 
> Chapter Tags: Feelings of Abandonment and Sadness

* * *

  
**WEDNESDAY**

Alec slept fitfully through the night. His mind just wouldn’t turn off. He kept wondering about Underhill and the real reason he was here with these criminals. He had said it was his choice, but...did he really have a choice to begin with? Alec wasn’t sure. If he has another chance, he is definitely going to try to talk to Underhill about it. Maybe they could help each other out of their current circumstances.

Of course, he also thought about his family all night long. Would he ever see any of them again? What was happening outside of the ugly four walls that made his current prison? Are they trying to find him...save him? Are they worried about him? The thoughts would turn into nightmares when the answers to those questions were ‘No’. When they all just abandoned any attempts to find him. Abandoned him to his fate, whatever it may turn out to be and continued on with their lives. Needless to say, he didn’t get much sleep.

He hasn’t seen Underhill, or anyone else, all morning, which was pretty odd. Ever since his failed escape, they come to inspect the room, and him, at least hourly. It must be noon by now and he’s seen no one. He hasn’t heard sounds outside of his door that would indicate another presence is in the house at all. It’s even quiet outside at the moment. He wonders if his abductors have given up. Maybe they’ve been found out and decided to move away from here, wherever here is. If they have left, did they leave him here to starve? Leave him to die a slowly, painful death alone? Has he been abandoned without any hope of being found? He has no choice but to wait and see, and hope that’s not the case.

♦♦♦♦

“He’s going to think we’ve abandoned him!!” shouts Magnus, tears in his eyes threatening to fall down his cheeks.

“We’re doing all we can to locate him, Magnus,” Simon tells him. “I’ve got all available NYPD personnel on this case. We’ll find him.”

“It’s taking too long! It’s been two days since we had contact with the kidnappers. They could be anywhere now. Alec could be dead for all we know! Why can’t you just release Dieudonne so we can make the trade for Alec?” Magnus paces back and forth in Simon’s office at the police station.

Simon lets him finish his rant then calmly tells him, “Magnus, I know you don’t want to hear this, but first of all, we don’t negotiate with terrorists. That’s not how the NYPD operates. Second, we’ve been working non-stop on this.”

“Simon didn’t even come home last night,” Izzy cuts in. “They want him found as much as we do.” She looks at Simon and they give each other a reassuring glance.

Magnus stops his pacing and looks at his sister-in-law. “Izzy, I love you, all of you, but Alec is my _husband_. Nobody wants him to be found more than-“ He’s cut off as Jace and Clary enter the room. 

“Captain Lewis, we think we found something,” says Clary without any preamble.

“Officer Fray, Detective Wayland, what do you have?” Simon asks them.

Before they can speak, Magnus asks, “Can we please dispense with the formalities? We’re all family here.” 

“Sure,” replies Simon. “Clary, Jace, the floor is yours.”

Clary looks around the room and clears her throat. “We analyzed Izzy’s recording of the video call with the kidnappers. We were able to isolate sounds of construction noise, children playing and a subway train.”

Jace continues the explanation. “I did some research to determine areas where those three things may intersect. There were several options around New York City and the surrounding boroughs that meet the criteria. There’s so much construction happening all the time we decided to exclude that from our investigation, so we concentrated on the train and kids. We cross-referenced the time of day the call came through with train schedules, trying to determine which lines would be above ground during that time. Then we checked those areas for proximity to schools, playgrounds, daycares, etc. We were able to condense the list to two neighborhoods.”

“Which neighborhoods?” Magnus asks excitedly.

“We aren’t one hundred percent sure yet, we still have officers on the ground investigating,” says Clary.

“Well you better get sure soon! Alec is out there somewhere, hurt and alone,” Magnus cries.

“I know, that’s why we’re working so hard. We’ve narrowed it down to the Lower East Side or Sunset Park. We don’t think the kidnappers took him too far. We’re really grateful that Izzy was able to provide us with that recording. We would have zero leads without it.”

“Thank god I have that recording app on my phone. It’s been useful before but if we find Alec because of it…wow,” exclaims Izzy. “So what do we do now?”

“You and Magnus don’t do anything,” Jace tells her. “We’ll take care of it. When we have more information, we’ll let you know. I’m going to be involved in every aspect of this until our brother is home.”

“That’s unacceptable! You can’t expect us to just sit here, twiddling our thumbs waiting for news." Magnus is incensed.

Simon tries to console him. “I’m sorry, Magnus. But that’s exactly what you have to do. I’ve got my best people on this. We’ll find him, I promise.”

♦♦♦♦

Later that evening, a call comes in to Jace at the precinct. Raphael Santiago, an officer who has been investigating in the Sunset Park area, claims to have seen a known associate - a white male, approximately six feet tall, short straight blond hair, swept to the right - of Malachi Dieudonne leaving a liquor store in the area. The officer followed him to a house that may or may not be abandoned. Santiago is reporting in and waiting for instructions and/or backup.

Jace listens to him then says, “Text me the address. Don’t leave your post. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”


	9. For the Greater Good

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt Filled: "TAKE ME INSTEAD"
> 
> Chapter Tags: Guns, Threat of Violence

* * *

  
It doesn’t take Jace too long to get from the precinct to the address Officer Santiago sent him. He parks his car a block away then texts Santiago that he will meet with him in minutes. He walks the final block. When he arrives, he sees Santiago’s unmarked car parked in the dark across the street from a small, two-story house. He makes his way stealthily towards the car, sticking to the shadows. He taps a knuckle on the front passenger door window and leans down so Santiago can see it’s him. The automatic lock clicks to grant him access.

“Santiago. What have you seen since you called?” Jace doesn’t waste any time with small talk.

“No movement in or out once Morganstern entered. There’s been a steady light on in the front room on the first floor and periodically the light in the second-floor room above the porch goes on then off. That’s it,” Santiago reports.

Jace looks at his coworker in surprise. “Morganstern? Like…Valentine Morganstern? Second in command of The Circle Crime Syndicate?”

“Not that Morganstern, his son, Jonathan, but I’m sure Valentine is involved in this. Once Dieudonne was sent to prison, Valentine took over the operation and moved Jonathan up the ranks of the Circle. He’s been doing a lot of the grunt work for the Circle for a while, stuff like petty theft or threatening witnesses. You would think Jonathan would know better; be more careful, cover his tracks and not lead people directly to a supposed hideout.”

Jace snickers and agrees. “Yeah. That’s like Bad Guy 101.”

They sit for a while and continue to surveil the house. Nothing of interest happens at all. 

Tired of waiting, Jace tells Santiago, “I’m going in for a closer look. I want to see what’s around back and if there’s a way we can breach the house safely.”

Before Santiago can say anything, Jace is out the door and running across the street through the darkness. He’s gone no more than five minutes when the passenger door opens and Jace slides back inside.

“So?” Santiago asks.

“There’s one door in the back that leads to a small yard. There’s no garage or storage shed back there and no streetlights nearby, so it’s pitch black dark. The light in the front room casts enough of a glow for me to be able to tell that the back door goes into the kitchen. The house is small. It wouldn’t take more than one or two people to secure the location and extract Alec. You and I, we could enter through the back, surprise, disarm and immobilize any Circle members then search the house.”

Santiago disagrees immediately. “We don’t know if Alec is in there for sure, much less how many other people may be in there with him.” 

“There can’t be more than three or four, the house is too small and Morganstern wouldn’t want more men than that tied here. There are too many other jobs that need to be done to keep the Circle running. We can more than handle that many unsuspecting, glorified babysitters.”

“Even if I wanted to, which I don’t, we’d have to get a search warrant first and that’s gonna take some time. Let’s not be stupid. Let’s go back to the precinct, apply for the search warrant, get some shut eye and come back tomorrow with the warrant and more backup.”

Jace thinks it over for a minute. “How about this? I’ll stay here on watch. If they move during the night and no one’s here to follow them, I will never forgive myself. I owe Alec that much.”

Reluctantly, Santiago gives in. He can tell Jace has made up his mind. “Fine. Give me your car keys. You can stay here in mine and I’ll take yours back.”

“Great. Here you go. It’s just down the street.” 

“I’ll check in with you in the morning with an update about the warrant.”

“Sounds good. Thank you, talk to you then.”

With that, Raphael gets out of the car and walks away down the street.

♦♦♦♦

Jace waits an hour until he can’t take it anymore. His plan is good. He’s a great fighter and an excellent shot. He knows he can overtake any of the Circle members that may be in that house. He can feel it in his bones and all of this cop's senses are tingling, telling him that his brother is in there. Screw the warrant. He’s done waiting. He exits the car and sneaks around to the back of the house.

He draws his pistol out of its holster and releases the safety. He needs to be ready for anything. He peers in through the window on the door and verifies that the kitchen is empty. The element of surprise is on his side, so he kicks in the back door and quickly runs through the kitchen into the front room, his gun raised, ready to fire if needed. 

There are two men in the front room. They jump to their feet immediately and try to grab their own weapons. “Ah, ah, ah, I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” says Jace. “I’ll shoot you where you stand if you make the slightest movement.” Jace has the drop on them at so they raise their hands in the air in surrender instead. 

“Where is Alec? I know he’s here.”

“Who is Alec?” asks the man in a button up shirt and tie.

“Don’t play dumb with me. I know he’s here,” Jace sneers.

“We don’t know who you’re talking about.”

“I’m talking about Judge Alec Lightwood!” Jace is yelling hysterically at this point.

“Is this who you’re looking for?” 

Jace hears a different voice coming from the staircase on the side of the room. He turns his head and sees another man, blond with a crazed look in his eyes, holding a gun to the head of his brother. Alec’s hands are tied and he’s bloody and bruised. 

“Alec,” Jace whimpers.

“Jace, what are you do-“

The blond pulls on Alec’s restraints. “When are you gonna learn to not speak unless you’re told to?”

He turns his attention to Jace. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

“Detective Wayland, NYPD. I’m here to arrest all of you and take Mr. Lightwood home. I suggest you turn him over to me now.”

“And if we don’t?”

“I’ll kill you all then take him home anyway.”

“I don’t think that’s gonna happen.” The blond presses his gun into Alec’s bruised temple and Alec cries out in pain, tears flooding his eyes and pouring down his cheeks. “See we need Mr. Lightwood so we can get what we want. We’ll trade him for Malachi Dieudonne, that’s the deal. That’s the only way he’s getting out of here alive.”

Jace thinks about his brother and can’t stand to see him this way. He thinks about their lives growing up together and how much Alec has done for him. He then thinks about the life Alec has with Magnus. The life he fought so hard to have. Jace can’t let all of that go away, so he makes a decision. He looks to Alec then to the blond, “Take me instead.”

The blond and the man in the tie laugh. “Why would we take you? You’re not worth anything to us,” asks the blond.

“I’m the detective who found and arrested Dieudonne. Without me, Dieudonne would still be in charge of the Circle and none of us would be here at all.”


	10. They Look So Pretty When They Bleed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt Filled: TRAIL OF BLOOD
> 
> Trigger Warnings: Graphic Depiction of Violence, Blood
> 
> Chapter Tags: Guns, Violence, Physical Harm, Injuries, Fighting, Punching, Loss of Consciousness

* * *

  
Everything happens at once. A whirlwind of activity in a small, enclosed space.

Alec yells, “Jace, no!” and the blond yanks Alec’s arms again and presses the barrel of his gun hard into Alec’s side while commanding, “I told you to shut up.” He twists Alec’s body around and forces him back upstairs, all the while, Alec is struggling against him and yelling Jace’s name.

“Grab him, Underhill!” yells the man in the tie.

Underhill doesn’t hesitate and launches himself towards Jace. He’s able to catch Jace, distracted and worried about Alec, off guard and tackle him to the ground. In the melee, Jace’s gun goes flying out of his hand, skidding to a halt on the floor at the feet of the man in the tie. 

Underhill wrestles with Jace but eventually gets the upper hand and forces Jace up onto his knees. “Got him, Aldertree. Now what?” asks Underhill.

Aldertree picks up the gun and points it at Jace. He stalks across the room casually, too casually for the situation. HIs calm demeanor makes Jace uneasy. Aldertree looks to Underhill, “Stand him up.”

Underhill grabs Jace under his arms and hefts him up onto his feet. He keeps Jace’s arms pinned behind his back. Once Jace is standing, Aldertree moves in close, pointing the gun right at Jace’s heart. “So…you’re the one we can thank for all of this?” he sneers. 

Jace just glares back at him, head held high. “Yes. I followed Dieudonne for months, watching his every move, building a solid case against him. I organized and participated in the mission that captured him, and I testified at the trial that put him away…for life.”

Aldertree looks away from Jace and brings his gun hand down away from Jace’s chest, seemingly to collect himself and his thoughts but he turns back to Jace quickly, eyes like fire. He brings his gun hand back up forcefully and lands a solid hit across Jace’s face. He leans in close to Jace and hisses, “You think you’re smart, don’t you? Think you’re such a badass you can come in here, by yourself, and overpower or kill all of us and be the hero? How heroic do you feel now?”

Jace spits blood out of his mouth and looks at Aldertree, defiance still in his eyes. “I feel like I could kick your pompous ass, even with someone holding my hands behind my back.”

“How about me? Do you think you can kick my ass?” The blond man that had been holding Alec has come back downstairs and is striding across the room towards him. 

“We’re good here, Verlac. We’ve got him under control,” Aldertree tells the man.

Jace looks between the two of them, confusion clear on his face. “Verlac? I thought you were Jonathan Morgenstern.”

That’s all it took for Verlac to lose any bit of control he had. He lands a solid right hook on Jace’s jaw. Jace’s head snaps to the side then back to the front and Jace tries to shake the fuzziness from his head. 

“No one calls me that!” yells Verlac. Now he’s in a rage, completely unhinged. He punches Jace continually for several minutes, all the while screaming things like, “I’m not my father! I’ve worked hard to get where I am! People will respect me!” He connects to Jace’s head and body with punch after punch and through it all, Underhill continues to hold Jace’s arms, rendering Jace defenseless and unprotected. 

Twice he’s hit in a kidney and at least one punch has left a gash on his face, he can feel the burn and the blood. His nose is pouring blood like a faucet. The final straw was a powerful knee strike to his ribcage. His legs give out and Underhill can’t hold up Jace’s weight anymore.

“Alright, Verlac. He’s had enough,” says Aldertree. Verlac moves to start kicking Jace with fervor but Aldertree steps in front of him. “I said that’s enough. If you want respect you’ve got to earn it. That starts with following orders and thinking about the big picture, not just yourself. We can’t have a dead cop on our hands.”

Verlac settles, begrudgingly, and steps away from Jace.

“Underhill, help him get the detective upstairs.”

“Where do you want us to put him?” inquires Underhill. “The only space we have would be in with Lightwood.”

“That’s fine, put him in there. Neither one of them will be here long enough for it to make a difference,” says Aldertree ominously. “This one will be passed out by the time he gets up there anyway.”

Underhill helps Jace to his feet. Verlac and Underhill each get on one side of him. They each duck under Jace’s arms, each holding one of his arms across their shoulder. They put their other arm around Jace’s waist and lift, supporting most of Jace’s weight because his legs currently don’t have the strength to do so. They continue across the room then up the stairs, leaving a trail of Jace’s blood behind them.

Aldertree watches with disgust as the blood trail forms across the room then up the stairs. He walks over to the foot of the staircase and yells up at his men, “And when you’re done with him, come back down here and clean up his blood. We may be in a hovel but there’s no need to leave trails of blood all over the place. It’s just unsanitary.”

♦♦♦♦

Alec can hear the fight downstairs but he can’t do anything other than yell Jace’s name and beat on the locked door of his room. The sounds of fighting stop and eventually he hears footsteps coming up the stairs. The next thing he knows, the door opens and there’s Jace, supported on either side by Verlac and Underhill, covered in blood and almost unconscious.

“Oh my god. Jace!” Alec screams. He tries to get to his brother but is pushed aside.

“Out of the way Lightwood,” says Verlac. They lay him down on the mattress and Alec is immediately by his side. 

“Jace! Jace, can you hear me?” Alec is frantically checking Jace over, inspecting his injuries. 

Jace turns his head slightly and looks sadly at Alec. “I’m sorry” is all he can say before the blackness claims him.


	11. Psych 101

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt Filled: CRYING
> 
> Chapter Tags: Crying, Sadness

* * *

  
**THURSDAY**

Officer Santiago returned to the precinct at around 11:30pm. It’s after midnight now but he needs to get the search warrant application sent in so they can execute it as soon as possible in the morning. He’s at his desk, working on the application, when Captain Lewis walks by and stops.

“Santiago? I thought you were on a stake out in Sunset Park. What are you doing back here?”

“I was relieved by Detective Wayland. We think we’ve located the house where Judge Lightwood is being held but we don’t have reasonable grounds to enter the building. I’m applying for the search warrant now. Hopefully, it will be approved quickly, and we can act on it in the morning. Wayland stayed behind to monitor the location.”

“I see. Thank you for the update. Keep me informed of the status of the warrant and if Detective Wayland contacts you for any reason.”

“Will do, Captain.”

Simon pats Santiago on the shoulder and leaves for home.

♦♦♦♦

_Texts between Clary and Simon_

__

__

_From Clary: Do you know where Jace is? He didn’t come home last night and he’s not answering his phone._

_From Simon: He was on an overnight stake out. I’m heading to the office now. Will get an update when I arrive._

_From Clary: Ok. I’ll meet you there._

As soon as Clary enters the precinct, she makes a beeline to Simon’s office. “So? What’s the news? Any update?”

“He hasn’t checked in this morning. I don’t want to alarm you, but we can’t reach him either. He’s not answering his phone or the radio in the car.”

“Where was he on the stake out? Let’s go there.” Simon can hear the anxiety rising in Clary’s voice.

“We can’t go. It would arouse suspicion and we can’t afford to blow our cover.”

“Simon, we have to go. What if something has happened to him? It’s not like him to not check in with someone.” Tears are welling up in her eyes now. 

Simon can tell that Clary, his best friend and one of his most seasoned and level-headed officers, is almost at her wits end. He crosses his office to her and envelops her in a hug. “It’s going to be alright. Jace is a very competent detective. I’m sure his phone is just dead.”

She is so worried for Jace. She shakes her head at Simon. “You know him. You know he takes unnecessary risks trying to be the hero all the time. What if he tried and it went horribly wrong? And what about the radio? Why isn’t he answering that?” She can’t hold back the tears any longer. She buries her face in Simon’s chest and cries.

“I don’t know, but we’re going to figure it out. I promise.” 

Clary doesn’t say anything else. She just keeps sobbing and Simon continues to hold her.

♦♦♦♦

Izzy’s phone rings and she answers it immediately when she sees the caller’s name flash on the screen. “Hi Magnus. You doing okay this morning?”

He sighs. “Not really. You?”

“I’m hanging in there. Holding out hope.”

“Has Simon given you any updates?”

Izzy doesn’t answer immediately, not exactly sure how much she should tell Magnus. She knows she should give him all the information, but she doesn’t want to scare him.

“Izzy? What is it? You’re worrying me.”

She can hear the change in Magnus’ tone. The normal, happy, carefree sound is replaced by almost whispered questions asked on a shaky breath.

“Simon and Clary have this all under control…”

She hears Magnus take a sharp inhale of breath. “Izzy…please tell me what’s happening. I can’t stand being in the dark.” His voice quakes even more. “If something has happened, I need to know.”

It all comes out in a rush. “Jace was on watch last night at the suspected location of the kidnapper’s hideout. He didn’t report in this morning. No one can reach him. We’re afraid he may have tried to rescue Alec on his own.” Izzy’s control snaps and her own tears start to fall. “If that’s the case, we don’t know if either one of them are still alive.” 

“Oh god.” Magnus whimpers as tears slowly fall down his face, too. 

After a few minutes of crying together, Izzy somewhat regains her composure. “Do you want me to come get you and we can go to the precinct together?”

Magnus sniffles and clears his throat. “Yes, please. I don’t want to be alone right now.”

“Me either. I’ll be there within the hour. I love you Magnus. We’re going to get through this. We’re going to find them, and they’ll be alright and we’ll bring them back home.”

“I love you too. I hope you’re right.”

♦♦♦♦

Alec has watched over Jace all night. In his nervousness, he’s moved from the chair to the mattress over and over again. He tried to sleep but was too afraid that Jace would stop breathing, so he stayed awake. Jace is starting to stir so Alec goes into the bathroom and wets a paper towel. He brings it back and starts trying to wipe away some of the dried blood on Jace’s face. Jace startles awake at the touch.

“Hey, it’s just me,” Alec says softly. 

“What happened? Where am I?” Jace asks him as he tries to sit up; however, his body doesn’t seem to be functioning correctly at the moment.

“Take it easy. Just lay there a few minutes and let me clean you up.”

“Clean me up? What’s…” 

Jace hisses as Alec dabs the deep cut on his jaw. “This might need stitches.”

Alec’s hands are shaking and he can feel his eyes fill with tears. He wants to be strong for Jace and not worry him, so he tries not to let them fall. He clears his throat, “Unsurprisingly, you were trying to be the hero last night, but these guys were not playing along. You got beat up pretty bad and left in here with me. You’ve been passed out all night.”

“Oh yeah, it’s all coming back to me now.” Jace winces as he tries to move. “Help me sit up will you?”

“Sure.” Alec grabs Jace’s hand and helps pull him into a sitting position. 

“Shit, that hurts like a motherfucker.”

“I’m sure it does. You know, that was a really stupid move, trying to take this on all by yourself. What were you thinking?” Alec asks.

“I was thinking I could save your ass.”

“Well, that didn’t work out, did it? Now we’re both stuck in here. I’m sure everyone is worried sick about us. At least, with you on the outside, I knew that you’d be there for Izzy, and for Magnus, when something happened to me. Now what? Who’ll comfort them, watch over them, when I’m gone?”

“I’m sorry, okay?!?!? Enough with the guilt!” Jace yells, as much as he can with his battered and bruised body. “I wanted to save my big brother. I should have been able to save you. After everything you’ve done for me our whole lives…” his lower lip quivers and he looks Alec in the eyes then whispers, “I should have been able to save you. I’m sorry I failed you.” He drops his chin to his chest and heaving sobs rack his body.

Alec can’t take all the stress and Jace’s tears too. He sits down beside his brother and gathers him in arms and finally lets his own tears flow. They sit there for a long time together and cry.


	12. I Think I've Broken Something

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt Filled: BROKEN BONES
> 
> Chapter Tags: Injuries

* * *

  
After they’ve cried out seemingly all the tears they had in their bodies, Alec releases Jace and looks at him sincerely. “Thank you for coming to my rescue.”

“What rescue? We’re both prisoners now.” Jace half laughs.

“Sometimes things don’t work out the way we plan,” Alec shrugs. “I still appreciate that you put your life on the line for me. I hope you know I would do the same for you.”

“Of course I know that. You’ve been doing that for Izzy and me our whole lives.”

“That’s my job as your big brother. Everything I’ve ever done for either of you, I’ve done happily, with pride and honor, and I would do all those again and more if given the chance.” Alec reaches over and pats Jace on the thigh, “Right now though, what I can do for you, is check you over for injuries.”

He moves to his knees in front of Jace and begins his inspection. “The cut on your jaw and your nose have stopped bleeding, so that’s good. It looks like your nose might be broken though. How do you feel if you move?”

Jace tests it out and winces when he tries to adjust his position on the mattress. He grabs his ribs and groans in pain.

“What is it?” Alec asks with concern. “Your ribs?”

“Yeah, I think I may have a broken rib. That Morgenstern kid landed a knee hard into my left side.”

“Hmm, let’s see.” Alec pulls up the hem of Jace’s shirt to check his ribs. There is a giant bruise across his side. He tries to distract Jace with a bit of conversation while he gingerly presses into the bruise to see if he can feel any broken bones. “Morgenstern? That’s new. I’ve only seen Underhill, Aldertree and Verlac.”

“Verlac is Morgenstern. He’s Valentine Morgenstern’s son.”

“Really?” Alec asks, shocked. “That explains the rage.” He lets Jace’s shirt back down.

Jace replies, “Yeah, I’d be pissed too if Valentine was my dad.”

“I do think you’ve got a broken rib or two. Verlac…Morgenstern…whatever his name is, sure did a number on us. Let’s try not to piss him off again and give him a reason to give it another go.”

“Agreed. He’s crazy.”

“Aldertree is cold and aloof but Underhill...he seems to be okay, for the most part. There’s something going on with him, like he may not be here by choice, I’m not sure yet.”

“Yeah, well, I hope we’re not here for too much longer. Whatever that smell is in here makes me want to hurl.”

“Huh, unfortunately, you get used to it,” Alec half laughs.

“I don’t want to be here long enough to get used to it. Santiago – that’s Officer Raphael Santiago, you know him – knows where I am. Shouldn’t be too long before reinforcements arrive.”

“I hope so. I’m sick and tired of this place. I want to go home.”

“Me too, man. Me too”

♦♦♦♦

Izzy and Magnus meet up with Simon and Clary at the NYPD. “What’s happening now, Simon?” Izzy asks without preamble as they enter Simon’s office.

“We’ve pinged his phone to his last known location, which we already knew. It’s where Santiago left him last night. Just because we can ping it, doesn’t mean Jace is still there, it only means he was.”

Izzy and Magnus look at each other worriedly. “What’s the next step then?” asks Magnus.

Simon looks to Clary. A silent discussion of “how much should we tell them?” passes between them before Clary sighs and answers, “We’re waiting on the search warrant. We can’t move on the house until we have that. Until then, we’re planning.”

“How long will it take to get the warrant?”

“Not much longer…we hope.”

“Alec and Jace aren’t gonna survive on ‘hope’!” Magnus yells. “We only have until midnight tonight. We can’t wait for the warrant or for planning. You all just need to release Dieudonne. After he’s out and Alec and Jace are home safe, you can capture Dieudonne again.”

“Unfortunately, it’s not that simple,” says Simon. “There’s a lot of red tape to work through. We started that process on Monday night, but it takes longer than the search warrant. I know it’s frustrating – we ALL want Alec and Jace to be safe – but we have to do it the right way.”

“Your ‘right way’ is going to get them both killed!” Magnus turns to Izzy and takes her hands in his. He pleads to her, “Izzy, please talk some sense into him.”

She stares into Magnus’ tear-filled eyes. She can’t stand this. The fact that both of her brothers are being held captive, Magnus is on the verge of a breakdown and Simon and Clary are both ‘business as usual.’ She turns to Simon and Clary in exasperation, “Please Simon, Clary, you’ve got to do something! I can’t handle this. There has to be something more that can be done. Why are you both acting like this is just another regular case for you? Don’t you give a shit?!?!”

Clary breaks. “Of course I give a shit! Jace is my fiancé. I’m barely holding myself together. The only thing I know to do is work this case like I’ve done hundreds of others. If I get too close, I’ll fall apart and be no use to Jace at all!” Clary cries. “I’m surprised Simon has let me stay on the case as it is.”

Simon hugs Clary as he says, “You’re one of my best officers Clary. I need you on this.” He then moves over to Izzy and wraps her in his arms while she cries. “Iz, you know I want them back. It’s killing me that I can’t make this go any faster. I’ve pulled every string I’ve got.” He kisses the top of her head then pulls back from her, an idea forming. “However, I do think there’s something you and Magnus can do.”

She sniffles and wipes her eyes. “You do? What?”

“As attorneys, I think you should go talk to the judge that’s reviewing the warrant request. Judge Herondale will listen to you. You’ve got great reputations and relationships within the court. I bet you all could ‘grease the wheels’ so to speak.”

Magnus gets a small glimmer of hope back in his eyes. “You may be on to something there, Simon. We do have a nice relationship with Judge Herondale. I bet she’d push the warrant through for us.” He looks to Izzy excitedly, “Come on. Let’s go to the courthouse. We can’t waste any more time.” He grabs Izzy by the arm and half drags her all the way through the precinct. They both yell a muffled “Bye” as they exit the door.

♦♦♦♦

“Judge Herondale. So kind of you to see us on such short notice,” Magnus says as he and Izzy enter the judge’s chambers. 

Judge Herondale rises from her chair and comes out from behind her desk to greet them. She shakes hands with both of them and smiles when she says, “Magnus, Isabelle, it’s always so nice to see you. I hate that it’s usually work-related.”

“We do too, Judge,” agrees Izzy.

Judge Herondale waves off the formality as she leans back against her desk. “Oh please, we’re not in court right now, call me Imogen.”

“Imogen,” Izzy corrects shyly. “We are happy to see you, but we do need your help.”

“What can I do for you? Need another team member for your trivia night?” Imogen teases.

Magnus chuckles at the joke. “While that is a very good idea - that we’ll definitely circle back around to - our request is much more urgent.”

Imogen can sense the seriousness now, so she straightens up and puts her metaphorical ‘judge hat’ back on. “Tell me what you need.”

Izzy clears her throat and begins, “My brothers, Judge Alec Lightwood and Detective Jace Wayland, are both being held captive by The Circle Crime Syndicate in a house in Sunset Park. The Circle has offered a trade – their freedom in return for the freedom of Malachi Dieudonne.” 

Imogen is shocked. “Magnus, isn’t Judge Lightwood your husband?”

“Yes ma’am, he is,” Magnus answers solemnly, “and I would very much like to have him back in one piece. The Circle has given us until midnight tonight to make the exchange. The NYPD has a couple of requests in the works, and we hope you can help us with one.”

“And which one is that?”

“On your desk, there should be a search warrant application for the house in Sunset Park. We respectfully request that you approve it immediately. If we can get the warrant, the NYPD can enter the house, save Alec and Jace, and hopefully arrest a few Circle members. The more of them we can get off the streets the better.”

“I agree.” Imogen circles back around her desk and sits down at her computer. She makes a few clicks with her mouse and types a few words then looks up at Magnus and Izzy. “Done. Now go rescue your family.”

“Thank you, thank you,” Izzy and Magnus both say in unison as they back out of her chambers.

“You’re most welcome. I only ask that you let me know what happens.”

“We will, we promise,” Izzy says then she and Magnus rush out the door. 

Once they reach their car, Izzy calls Simon. “Simon, it’s done. Judge Herondale approved the warrant.”

“Hold on a sec, let me check.” Izzy can hear him typing in the background then yell for Clary. “Yep, I see it. We’re on it. We have the team on standby so I’ll start notifying everyone.”

“Magnus and I are on our way.”

“Ok, see you in a bit.” Simon disconnects the call and notifies Clary.


	13. Do These Tacos Taste Funny To You?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt Filled: DRUGGED (from day 22) + Alt Prompt: PUNCTURED
> 
> Trigger Warning: Needles
> 
> Chapter Tags: Physical Harm, Injuries, Violence

* * *

  
That afternoon, the door to their room slams open and Verlac enters. He zeros in on Jace and screams, “Who knows you’re here?!?”

“I don’t know,” replies Jace.

“There’s been some extra activity outside this morning. Same cars passing by every 15 minutes or so. There’s an abandoned car across the street. Is that yours?”

Jace doesn’t answer. Just shrugs his shoulders and looks away from Verlac.

Verlac storms across the room then grabs Jace by the front of his shirt and hauls him up off the floor. Verlac pulls him into his body and screams into Jace’s face, spit spraying all over Jace, “I asked you a question! WHO…KNOWS…YOU’RE…HERE?!? I want an answer…NOW!”

Jace glares at Verlac then smirks at him. “How the hell should I know? Even if I did, I sure as SHIT wouldn’t tell you.”

“AAAGGGHHHH!” screams Verlac as he throws Jace down onto the hard floor. Jace lands with a thud and doesn’t have a chance to protect himself before Verlac has landed several kicks to his left side, squarely on his already bruised ribs. 

Alec rushes Verlac and manages to distract him from Jace for a second before he is met with a “GET OFF ME!” and a backhand to the face that knocks him to the floor. Alec and Jace are both trying to recover when Underhill bursts through the door, the ruckus having alerted him to Verlac’s rage. He grabs Verlac by the front of his shirt, spins him away from the fight and pins him against the wall with his forearm pressed against Verlac’s chest.

Trying to get Verlac to calm down and hopefully talk some sense into him, he admonishes, “That’s enough Verlac! We’ve already had to report to your father about Wayland being here. He is not happy. He’s sending more associates because he thinks we can’t handle this. Don’t prove him right.”

Verlac forcefully shakes off Underhill, glares at all of them then storms out of the room.

Underhill apologizes, “I’m sorry Judge. I was able to keep them out of here for that one night, told them they could take it out on me if you tried anything and that seemed to work, but Verlac is going to do what he wants to do, no matter what. I’ll still try to keep him out but as you can see, it’s easier said than done.” He gives them both a remorseful look and says, “I hope you’re okay,” as he leaves the room. 

Alec crawls over to Jace who is still laying on the floor, grasping his side and wheezing. 

“Jace, Jace. What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Alec gently rolls Jace onto his back. 

Jace looks at Alec when weakly says, “I think I may have a punctured lung.” He gasps for another breath then says, “One of those kicks landed right on that broken rib.” Another deep breath in. “I can breathe but…it’s a struggle.”

“Goddammit!” Alec roars. He takes a few seconds to calm down then asks Jace, “Do you think you can get back over onto the mattress, at least get a little bit more comfortable? Even if that mattress is gross, it’s softer than the floor.”

“I think I can, if you help me.”

“Of course.”

With effort, Jace finds himself back on the mattress. 

“You just lay there and take it easy. I’m gonna see if I can get Underhill to take you to a hospital. Even if he just drops you off at an ER, it’s better than staying here.”

He goes over to the door and checks the knob. Locked. Of course. He bangs on the door, yet no one comes. He starts to yell, “Underhill! You’ve got to come back up here! Jace needs medical attention! He’s got to get to a hospital!” 

Silence. He tries again, for what must be thirty minutes, pounding on the door and screaming, “Underhill! You’ve got me, you don’t need Jace! Take him to a hospital! Underhill! Underhill!” There’s never an answer or sound from the other side of the door. Alec gives up and turns around. He leans back against the door and slides down it until he’s sitting on the floor. “Please,” he cries.

♦♦♦♦

Magnus and Izzy enter the police station, which is a flurry of activity. Officers are on their phones or talking in groups in front of whiteboards making plans and reviewing the mission. 

Clary sees them and waves them over to her. “Great job with the warrant. We’ll be leaving here a little before dusk.”

“About that…” Clary hears from behind her. She turns around to see Simon, with an almost sad look on his face. “Clary, Magnus, Izzy, come into my office please.” He turns on his heel and walks to his office, expecting them to follow.

Simon closes the door behind them and says in a serious tone, “Why don’t you all take a seat?”

“Simon, I don’t like what’s going on here. Has something happened?” Izzy asks, concerned.

“Nothing’s happened, and I want to keep it that way. To that end...I can’t have any of you at the scene tonight.”

A chorus of protests erupts. Simon shakes his head and puts up his hand to quiet it. 

“You’re all too close to this. Magnus and Izzy, you two can’t legally be there anyway, your civilians. Clary, I know you’ve worked so hard on this, and it wouldn’t be coming together as well as it is without you, but you’re too close to the situation. I can’t be worried about you during the mission. You can wait back at command central with the emergency vehicles.”

They all protest more forcefully. Simon silences them again. “This is non-negotiable. Magnus and Izzy, I’ll relent and allow you to be with Clary at command central where you can listen to what’s happening over the radio. That’s the deal. If any of you don’t agree, you can stay here or go home. That’s the final word on the subject. You’re all dismissed.”

♦♦♦♦

Two or three hours have passed. Alec has been sitting in the chair, watching over Jace. Jace is calm but his face is screwed up in pain and his breaths are shallow and ragged.

“How are you feeling, Jace?” Alec asks him.

It takes Jace a moment to gather the breath to speak. “I don’t know,” is all he can manage.

Alec moves down to the mattress to sit beside Jace. “You’re going to be okay,” Alec tries to soothe him as he brushes his hair back from his face. “Simon and Clary will be here any time now.” He adds “I hope” silently to himself. “You just lay here and try to sleep.”

Not ten minutes later, the door opens. This time it’s Aldertree. “I hear there was another altercation this afternoon and the detective needs medical attention.”

Alec scoffs at that. “I’d say ‘altercation’ is putting it lightly. Jace needs to go to a hospital. He’s got broken ribs and a punctured lung. I’m not sure if he can make it through the night here.”

“You know we can’t let him, or you, go until Dieudonne is released. Your people have until midnight. If they come through before then, we’ll release you and you can take him to the hospital yourself. In the meantime, I’ve got something that will help him sleep and relax. Move away from him.”

Alec refuses to move a muscle. “No, you’re not giving him anything and I’m staying right here.”

Aldertree looks at him with frustration. “Fine.” He turns towards the door and yells for Underhill, who appears within seconds. Aldertree calmly instructs him, “Get Lightwood away from the detective.”

Underhill hesitates, but Aldertree commands him, “Now!”

Underhill crosses the room and forcibly pulls Alec up off the mattress and away from Jace. Alec can only watch as Aldertree kneels down with a syringe in his hand, next to his brother. 

Alec fights against Underhill’s grip and screams at Aldertree, “You stay away from him you son of a bitch!”

He watches as Aldertree sticks the needle into Jace’s arm and presses the plunger, injecting Jace with a mysterious drug.

“You bastard! What did you give him?!?” Alec screams.

“Just something to keep him comfortable through the night. I can’t have half of our leverage dying on us.” 

Aldertree stands and leaves the room, Underhill following behind.

As soon as Underhill releases him, Alec is back at Jace’s side. Jace’s face is no longer scrunched in pain and his breathing is even. The drug appears to be helping. Just in case it stops helping, Alec returns to his post in the chair and resumes his watch over his brother.


	14. Is Something Burning?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alt Prompt: SHOT
> 
> Trigger Warning: Minor Character Death
> 
> Chapter Tags: Guns, Gunfire, Gunshot Wound
> 
> SWAT = Special Weapons and Tactics

* * *

  
By dusk, command central is set up five blocks away from the house in an empty parking lot. Ambulances and fire trucks are all on stand-by, but their lights are all dark. The squad of police has gathered around Simon and they’re reviewing the plan one last time. Right after dark they are ready to go so Simon gives the signal to load up and the team piles into two SWAT vehicles.

They waste no time speeding down the street to the house. As soon as they pull up, the team exits the vehicles and surrounds the house. They wait in the shadows for Simon to give them the go-ahead. Simon verifies that everyone is in position then gives the signal over the radio, “Now!”

On his command, Bravo Team, which is positioned at the back door and led by Officer Santiago, uses a battering ram to bust down the kitchen door. Seconds after that, Alpha Team, led by Simon, kicks the front door in. Simon enters the front room surrounded by the rest of Alpha Team. Everyone has their guns drawn. He sees a figure running up the stairs, taking the steps two at a time. Alpha Team is screaming at the two remaining men in the room, “Get down! On your knees! Hands behind your head! Now!”

Santiago and his team enter the front room from the kitchen. He asks Simon, “Is it just these two here?”

“No. Another went upstairs. I’m assuming that’s where they’re keeping Alec and Jace,” Simon answers. “We’ll cover down here. Take your team upstairs. The perp was blond. Be careful, don’t confuse him with Wayland.”

“10-4,” confirms Santiago, then he and Bravo Team make to ascend the stairs. Before they can reach the bottom, a blond man appears at the top, using Alec Lightwood as a human shield. He has a gun pressed to Alec’s side and Alec’s hands are bound in front of him.

“Come any closer and I _will_ shoot him!” screams Verlac. “All of you, put your guns down!”

“I’m afraid we can’t do that,” Simon replies. Each member of the SWAT team keeps their weapon trained on one of the kidnappers. “You see, you’ve got a couple of things we need and you’re going to give them to us…or we’ll take them by force. You’re outnumbered here. Let the judge go, tell us where the detective is, and no one has to get hurt here today.”

“That’s not going to happen,” sneers Verlac. “You want the judge…” he starts forcing Alec down the steps in front of him, keeping his own back to the wall, Alec in front of him. “…you know the deal, him for Dieudonne.” When they step off the last step onto the floor, Verlac studies the room. “I said, lower your weapons…NOW!!!”

As Verlac screams that last word, many things happen all at once: the front window shatters as a hail of bullets rip into the house; the SWAT team all dive for cover; Aldertree and Underhill try to stay out of the path of the bullets while scrambling for their own weapons but fortunately, they can’t find them in the melee; Alec slams his head back into Verlac’s face with enough force to make Verlac release him then Alec dives down onto the floor and does his best army crawl towards Simon. 

Bullets from automatic rifles continue to spray the house from the outside in. Alpha Team tries to return fire but there are too many enemies for them to overtake. Simon meets Alec halfway and grabs him. “Alpha, Bravo, retreat! Out the back!” he yells. 

“No Simon, we have to get Jace!” Alec screams.

“Where is he?!?”

Alec has to scream over the noise of the mayhem, “Upstairs…but they’ve drugged him! He’s unconscious!”

Aldertree’s smarmy voice cuts through the chaos as he yells, “Reinforcements have arrived, Mr. Lightwood! The only way you or the detective make it out of here is in body bags!”

The bullets continue and the Circle members are fast approaching the front of the house. They will overtake the police within seconds.

Everyone continues to crouch down, trying to avoid the bullets, as they make their way to the rear of the house where the SWAT cars are waiting. Simon is practically dragging Alec towards the kitchen now. “Alec, I’m sorry, we don’t have time. Even if we did, we can’t make it to Jace then carry him down. We don’t have a choice. We have to leave him. I’m sorry. We’ll come back for him I promise.”

“No, we’ve got to get him!” Alec cries. He jerks loose of Simon’s hold and turns to go back upstairs to get Jace. He’ll do it by himself if he has to but he stops short when he’s met with the barrel of a pistol being aimed right between his eyes. 

“I guess there’s no deal, so you die,” says Verlac.

Before he can pull the trigger, a shot is fired from the kitchen door and Verlac slumps down to the floor, dead, a bullet hole in his temple. Simon, Alec, Aldertree and Underhill all look in the direction of the shot and see Santiago lowering his weapon, the smell of gun smoke filling the room. “Come on, we’ve got to go!” yells Santiago.

Aldertree and Underhill finally find their weapons and join in the fight. Raphael lays down cover fire as Simon grabs Alec and they duck and cover, running out the back with the remainder of the team. Simon knows there are casualties. He has no idea how many yet but he’s sure the officers who were posted outside are dead.

Once they're all in the SWAT vehicles they speed away from the house and Simon begins to mentally tally their dead.

♦♦♦♦

At command central, Magnus, Izzy and Clary have been listening to the live feed from Simon’s radio. It seemed everything was going as planned until one of the perps threatened to shoot Alec. In that moment, Magnus and Izzy look worriedly to Clary for her interpretation of what’s going on. All she can do is shake her head solemnly. That last thing they hear is the same perp scream, “Lower your weapons NOW!” then the sound of gunfire and the thud of what they guess is Simon’s body hitting the ground. The feed goes dead after that. Now all they can do is wait in a horrible suspended reality until someone, anyone...hopefully everyone, returns back to command central.


	15. Into the Unknown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alt Prompt: COMFORT
> 
> Chapter Tags: Sadness, Injuries
> 
> EMT = Emergency Medical Technician

* * *

  
The SWAT cars pull up at command central and the trio runs towards them. They watch as officers exit the vehicles, waiting for Simon, Alec and Jace to appear. Santiago emerges and looks their way. He shakes his head sadly. Simon appears next. Izzy rushes towards him. Alec follows Simon out of the vehicle and Magnus meets him halfway catching him in a bruising hug, which causes Alec to wince. No one else is exiting the vehicles. It seems that everyone who could make it back, has.

They all turn sad eyes to Clary. “Where’s Jace?” she asks, her voice shaking, afraid to know the answer.

Simon comes over to her and places his hands on her arms. He looks at her with sad eyes, “I’m sorry, Clary.”

Clary’s voice increases in hysteria as she cries, “Oh god. Is he dead? Tell me if he’s dead. He can’t be dead! Please Simon! Tell me he’s not dead!!” She breaks down into sobs as Simon grabs her into his arms.

Alec comes up beside her and rubs her back. “Clary, I’m so sorry.” He’s crying now too because he’s relieved that he’s back safe, but also because they had to leave Jace. “I tried to get to him, to save him. There was too much chaos and bullets flying everywhere and guns and death all around.”

“So he’s really dead then?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. When I last saw him, he was unconscious but he was alive. He’s been beaten up pretty bad and they gave him a drug to make him sleep. I don’t know if he’s still alive or not.”

“Clary, look at me,” Simon says. She looks up at Simon but doesn’t leave his embrace. “We’re going to get him back. We know where he is for sure now. We’re gonna make a plan and we’re gonna come back here and get him. Okay?”

Clary sniffs then wipes away her tears with her hands. “What if they move him?”

“I’ll post officers to monitor the house tonight. We can set up surveillance in an empty house across the street and another one in the back. If anything happens, we’ll know it.”

Clary nods in agreement. She sets her resolve and steps back from Simon. “Ok, let’s go plan.”

“We’re not setting foot into the precinct until sometime after noon tomorrow. None of us will be good for anything until then.” He looks pointedly at Alec. “Alec, I need you to get checked out by the EMTs before I clear you to go home.”

“I’m fine, Simon. A little bruised up, that’s all. I just want to go home.”

“It’s not up for debate. Pick one of these ambulances,” he indicates over his shoulder. “They’ll give you the once-over on the ride to the precinct. If they give the thumbs up, I’ll release you into Magnus’ care and he can take you home.”

Alec acquiesces by nodding his head and starting towards an ambulance. Magnus silently takes his hand and goes with him.

Izzy comes up beside Clary and takes her hand, using her free hand to rub Clary’s arm in comfort. “You’re coming home with us tonight,” she says. “No arguments.”

Clary leans into Izzy’s side and easily agrees, “Okay.”

“Alright everybody, load up!” Simon commands his officers. “We’ve gotta get out of here in case the Circle gets any ideas about finding us.” 

All the team members load into the waiting vehicles and they head back towards the safety of the precinct.

♦♦♦♦

“The EMT said you were alright but I’m going to check you over myself, so straight upstairs to the bathroom with you. I need good light,” Magnus instructs Alec as they enter their home. Alec doesn’t argue.

Alec’s white button-up shirt is wrinkled, untucked and a dingy beige, spotted with blood stains. His dark, pinstripe slacks are covered in dirt and who knows what else. The matching suit jacket he had on when he left home on Monday morning is gone, never to be seen again. 

“Come over here in front of the mirror, in the light from the vanity. I want to check the cuts on your face.” Alec steps into the light and Magnus can see that Alec has a gash over his swollen right eye, which is black & blue to match the left one. There are cuts on his left temple & cheek, he’s got a busted lip and his nose is bruised and swollen.

“How do I look?” Alec asks, with some teasing in his voice to try to lighten the mood.

“Dashing as always of course.” Magnus smiles then leans in to give him the barest kiss on the lips. “Nothing that won’t be healed in a few days. Now, let’s get this shirt off. Okay?”

“Okay,” Alec agrees. With shaky hands he attempts to open the buttons on the cuffs, but Magnus gently moves his hands away. “Let me do it. Please,” Magnus requests. Alec nods and drops his hands slowly to his sides with a sigh.

Magnus undoes the cuff of both sleeves which exposes Alec’s raw, rope burned wrists. Magnus quickly looks up to Alec, “What happened here?”

“Rope burn. I’m sure my right ankle looks the same.”

Magnus just frowns at him. He then unbuttons the shirt itself and gently opens it to expose Alec’s chest. “Oh, honey,” he says on an intake of breath and tears form in his eyes. Bruises dot Alec’s chest like a Jackson Pollock painting. “Turn around.” The bruises continue on Alec’s back and even down onto his arms.

Magnus runs his hands over Alec's back, chest and arms, pushing lightly here and there to check for broken bones or possible internal injuries. “Tell me if any of this hurts.” Magnus continues his exploration and presses on the area over a kidney. Alec squinches his eyes shut and inhales quickly. Magnus instantly stops his examination. “Is that tender?”

“Yeah.”

“Want to tell me why?” 

Alec hesitates. “It’s not that I don’t want you to know…I just don’t want you to worry.”

“I’ll worry more if you don’t tell me. I want to know what happened…everything, so if something, God forbid, gets worse, I’ll know what to tell the doctors…if you can’t. I’m here for you. Please don’t hold anything back from me.”

Alec exhales. “Can it wait until later? Please? I just really want a bath right now.”

“Sure. I’ll start the water running. Can you take off your pants by yourself?”

“I think so.”

When Magnus turns around from the tub, Alec is naked and Magnus can see the full extent of his injuries. His ankle looks about as bad as his wrists and there are bruises dotting his thighs and calves. Alec notices Magnus’ eyes wandering his body. “How do I look?”

“If I’m honest? Like you’ve been through the wringer.”

“Heh, I feel like it. Help me into the tub? I’m a little unsteady.”

“Of course.” Magnus holds out his hand and Alec takes it then gingerly climbs into the bath. As the water covers the rope burns, he hisses. He aches all over but the hot water is soothing. He leans back against the tub and Magnus, sitting on the floor next to it, runs his fingers through Alec’s hair. After soaking for a bit and enjoying the comfort of Magnus playing with his hair, he decides his hair really needs to be washed. He sits up to do just that but his arms don’t really want to cooperate. Magnus takes the shampoo bottle from him. “Here, relax, let me. The EMTs said you may have a bit of a pinched nerve in your neck so your arms are going to be weak for a few days. I’ll wash your hair then scrub all the dirt off the rest of you.” 

After the bath, Alec puts on a pair of boxer briefs and makes himself comfortable sitting up in their bed. Magnus tends to his wounds with bandages and medicated creams or ointments. That done, Magnus brings him a tray with food, water and hot tea then sits down beside him. “I know you may not feel like eating much but you need to at least drink, and take these pain meds. Then I want you to tell me everything that happened.”

Alec does as he’s told then resignedly tells his husband what happened. By the end of the story, both of them have tears slowly making tracks down their cheeks. Magnus reaches a hand up to cup Alec’s face and wipes a tear away. When Alec makes eye contact with him, that’s it, Alec breaks down. He weeps for a time while Magnus holds him, then between broken breaths confides, “I thought…they were going…to kill me…and I’d never…see you again.”

“Me too.” Magnus’ tears increase and he clutches Alec tighter. “It’s alright, you’re home now, you’re safe.”

“But Jace isn’t.” Alec pauses. “Magnus…we left him.” His sobs increase again.

Magnus adjusts their position and pulls the covers up over them as they slide down into the bed, laying in each other’s arms. Magnus kisses his cheeks and lets him cry, “You did everything you could. We’ll save him.” 

“You don’t know that.”

Magnus takes Alec’s face in his hands again and stares into his eyes, “No, but I do know we aren’t giving up, we’ll do everything in our power to bring Jace home. But, we’re not going to be any good to him if we can’t function because we’re so tired. You can hardly keep your eyes open and you’ve been through one hell of an ordeal. Let’s try to get some rest and we’ll make a plan with Simon tomorrow.”

Alec sighs. “Okay, you’re right.” 

They snuggle into each other and after a few moments Magnus asks quietly, “Alexander?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Magnus pulls Alec closer and pushes his hair out of his eyes. Magnus kisses his forehead and they both fall into an exhausted sleep.


	16. A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts Filled: FORCED TO BEG and SHOOT THE HOSTAGE
> 
> Chapter Tags: Guns, Injuries

* * *

  
**FRIDAY**  
  
Clary wanders into Simon and Izzy’s kitchen searching for coffee. Simon looks up when she enters the room, “Morning, Fray. How’d you sleep?”

“Pretty well, actually. I didn’t think I would but that bed is, oof, extremely comfy. Plus…all the stress had worn me the hell out, but I’m prepared for today. What’s the plan? I need one cup of coffee then I can be ready to leave here in twenty.”

“The plan is, coffee, shower, food,” says Izzy as she comes into the kitchen.

“We don’t have time for that, Iz. Jace is out there, suffering God knows what. We can’t waste time. We have to get moving.”

“Simon spoke with the surveillance teams. There’s been no activity since last night. They will call if anything changes.”

“Do you not understand the gravity of the situation? Jace could already be dead! If he’s not, the longer he’s captive, the closer he is to death. We’ve got to do something.”

Simon speaks up. “Clary, let’s be honest about the situation, as hard as it is. If they had already killed Jace, they wouldn’t have stayed at the house. They would have left his body there and cleared out. As it is, surveillance suggests that all of the shooters from yesterday have left and they took Jonathan Morgenstern’s body with them. Surveillance doesn't know where to. I feel like their plan is to use Jace as leverage, since they no longer have Alec, to bargain for Dieudonne’s release.”

“That doesn’t make me feel much better.”

Izzy brings Clary a cup of coffee. “Here, drink this then go get a shower. That will relieve some of the tension. While you’re doing that, Simon will call the precinct and get another update.” 

Clary resigns herself to the fact that there’s nothing she can do at the moment, even though she hates that feeling. “Okay, thank you both for letting me stay here. I really don’t want to be alone right now.”

Izzy wraps Clary up in a tight hug. “We wouldn’t want you to be anywhere else. You can stay here as long as you want. We’ll get through this together. Somehow.”

Clary steps out of Izzy’s embrace and goes to take a shower. When she returns, Simon has an update. “I have what may or may not be bad news.”

“What is it?”

“One of the officers on guard reported that Valentine Morgenstern arrived at the house about 10 minutes ago, with 5 additional associates.”

“Simon, that’s definitely bad news! We need to go. Now!” 

“Agreed.” 

“I’ll call Alec and Magnus from the car,” Izzy says. All three of them scramble to get everything they may need for the day and hurriedly leave the house. 

♦♦♦♦

“What the FUCK happened here Aldertree?!? You were supposed to guard the hostage until Dieudonne was released and now we have an entirely different hostage and my son is dead! You’re lucky I don’t kill you where you stand!” Valentine is enraged and pacing around the front room of the house. Overnight his associates boarded up the front window, so the room looks even dingier than it did before.

“You are correct, sir. I have no excuse for the events that transpired.”

“You’re goddamned right you don’t.”

“I promise that nothing unexpected will happen with the detective. He will not leave our sight until Dieudonne is free. You can kill us if we go back on our word. Underhill is watching him right now.”

“At least someone here has sense enough to actually guard the prisoner,” Valentine huffs. “Have Underhill bring him down here. We have a call to make.”

♦♦♦♦

The whole team has gathered at the precinct by the time Magnus and Alec arrive. “Hey, sorry we’re late,” Alec says as the team all turn to greet them. “I was a little slow getting out of bed this morning.”

“Alec, you don’t have to be here. I can keep you updated on everything. Go back home, let Magnus take care of you,” Izzy suggests.

“Iz, you know me better than that. While I do have an excellent nurse,” he winks at Magnus who takes his hand and squeezes it, “I can’t not be here, not when we don’t know what’s happening with Jace.”

Izzy tries to bring in reinforcements to help change her brother’s mind. “Magnus, please talk some sense into him. The bags under his eyes are proof that he needs more rest.” 

“I tried. When I saw how hard it was for him to get out of bed, I really tried. But he’s stubborn, which you may know about him, and he wasn’t having it. Said he would be much worse off if he was kept in the dark about Jace and the unknown would drive him mad. After thinking it through some more, I agree with him, so if being here - away from any imminent danger - will make him happier, I’m all for it.” Magnus looks at Alec, eyes wide, face stern to really drive home his next point, “He’s promised me that if he gets too tired or starts to feel bad in any other way, we’ll go home. I’m going to hold him to that.”

“But - “

Alec holds up his hand to stop Izzy mid-sentence. “That’s the deal, Iz, you just have to accept it. I’m a little beat up, my muscles are stiff and sore but I’ll be fine. I need to be here.”

Izzy huffs out a breath and her shoulders sag. “Fine, but I’m watching you.” She closes the distance between them and gives him a gentle hug, afraid to squeeze too tightly.

He returns her hug and gives her a kiss on the top of her head then looks at Simon, “Alright Captain, bring us up to speed.” 

As Simon is discussing the new rescue mission, an officer interrupts him. “I’m sorry to disturb you sir but there’s an urgent call for you…and you should really take it.”

“Oh, okay,” Simon says worriedly. “Patch it through to this phone.” He indicates the phone on the desk that he is standing beside. 

“Actually…it’s a video call. I’ll put it up on the screen.”

Within seconds, an image of Jace on his knees, hands behind his back, head bowed, bloody, bruised, half-conscious and wheezing for breath fills the screen. Surrounding him are two men who Alec recognizes as Underhill and Aldertree, and a third man, who Alec doesn’t know.

The third man speaks. “Captain Lewis. As I’m sure you know, I’m Valentine Morgenstern. We had an arrangement, Judge Lightwood for Malachi Dieudonne. The deadline on that arrangement has passed. I have no judge, and Dieudonne is still behind bars. Somehow, that doesn’t seem right. It’s almost like you didn’t take our demand seriously. Well, now we have the detective here to show you just how serious we are.” Valentine pulls a gun from behind his back and turns from the camera to take aim at Jace.

Alec screams at the screen, punching his fist down on the desk in front of him, “You bastard! Don’t you lay a finger on my brother! I swear to God I will hunt you down and kill you myself!”

Valentine turns his head back around so he can see the video call. “Oh? Your brother you say? Hmm, I didn't realize that,” Valentine taunts. “Seems only fitting then; you killed my son...now you lose your brother.”

He turns back towards Jace just as Jace musters the strength to raise his head and beg, “Please...don’t make them watch.”

“Hmpf, too bad none of us are getting the things we ask for these days.” Valentine pulls the trigger and Jace’s body is twisted around to the left and is thrown to the floor with the force of the impact. He lands face down, his forehead smacking the hardwood floor with a sickening thump, and lays there lifeless in the background of the video as Valentine addresses the camera again. “This is what happens when our demands aren’t met.”

The video call ends abruptly and everyone in the entire police station stands motionless in stunned silence.


	17. I Did Not See That Comming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt Filled: Blackmail
> 
> Chapter Tags: Grief, Sadness

* * *

  
Clary’s piercing scream of anguish shatters the silence that had overtaken the precinct. “JACE!! NO!!” Her legs give out and she collapses where she was standing. Her sobs of grief echo off the walls. As she cries with her head in her hands, she keeps repeating, “Jace. No. He can’t be gone. No.”

She feels someone sit beside her and pull her into their embrace. She lets them hold her for several minutes until she can finally gather enough strength to look up. To her surprise, it’s Alec. His face is also tear-stained. Their eyes meet and both burst into tears again. She wraps her arms around Alec’s waist and holds on to him for dear life, clutching the back of his shirt so hard her knuckles go white. She buries her head in his chest and weeps, great gasping sobs. Alec lays his head on hers and holds her tight. The sound of his crying joins hers. They weep in each other’s arms, trying to offer some kind of support in their shared sorrow. It's not long before they feel someone else join them on the floor and wrap them both into their warm embrace. It’s Magnus. He strokes Clary’s head in a comforting gesture and says, “Go ahead and cry honey. We’ve got you.” He kisses Alec on the top of his head and tells him, “I love you. We’re going to get through this.”

Magnus looks up and see’s Izzy being comforted by Simon. She is turned into him and is leaning onto his chest. She has her face in her hands and her shoulders are shaking from the force of her cries. Simon is holding her close, one arm around her waist and his other arm raised so his hand can cradle her head into his chest. He’s whispering in her ear, gently rocking her side to side. He makes eye contact with Magnus and just shakes his head. It seems Simon is also at a loss of what to do. For now, all they can do is let them cry it out and be there for them, for whatever they may need.

♦♦♦♦

Valentine does not look back towards Jace’s body. He simply tucks the gun back into the waistband of his pants behind his back and calmly calls for Aldertree. 

“Yes, sir.” Aldertree steps over Jace’s prone body and walks to stand in front of Valentine.

“This location has obviously been discovered. We need another safe house. Since the discovery happened on your watch, it’s your job to find it. You have six hours. If it’s six hours and one minute, I’m going to take you up on the offer of killing you.”

“I understand sir. I’ll take care of it.”

“See that you do.” Valentine turns and addresses one of his associates. “Pangborn, it’s apparent that these two can’t be trusted to competently complete a task. I want you to stay here and watch them. I expect to be updated on the progress.”

Pangborn steps forward and complies with a “Yes, sir.”

“Everyone else, let’s go.” All of the other associates exit the house with Valentine, leaving Underhill, Aldertree and Pangborn alone with Jace’s unmoving form.

As soon as the black sedans and SUVs carrying Valentine and his men pull away from the house, Pangborn turns to Aldertree. “You heard the boss, get to work. Start with getting that,” he gestures to Jace’s body, “out of here. I don’t wanna look at it.”

“What should we do with him?” Underhill asks.

“I don’t really care as long as I don’t have to see it. Take him back upstairs, out of the way.”

Underhill looks at Aldertree for some guidance. It’s clear though that Aldertree is lost. The confrontation with Valentine has shaken him to his core. All the confidence, bravado and seemingly unflappable calm he had before are gone. Not only has he lost Valentine’s faith in him, he’s also been made to look incompetent in front of other Circle members. Underhill knows Aldertree well enough to know that it’s the latter that bothers him the most. Aldertree just looks at Underhill and shrugs his shoulders. “Let’s do as we’re told. I’ve got a deadline.”

They walk over to Jace’s body and roll him over onto his back. Underhill grabs him under the arms and Aldertree grabs him under the knees. They lift in unison, groaning with the stress of lifting 180+ pounds of dead weight. They struggle to make it up the stairs. When they finally do, they deposit him on his back onto the mattress (a little bit more blood won’t hurt it) and leave him in the room. They exit and leave the door open. They’re not worried about him escaping now.

Outside of the room, Underhill grabs Aldertree’s arm to stop him before he can go back downstairs. Aldertree turns around to face him. “What now?” Aldertree asks with a sigh.

“You know, I’m not in for shooting police. I can’t keep being involved in things like this.”

“You’ll be involved in whatever we tell you to be involved in. You’re here to work off a debt, not for fun.”

“I’m here because the Circle is blackmailing me,” Underhill retorts.

“You owe the Circle a lot of money. If you’re tired of being here or decide you don’t want to be involved anymore, your family can always pay off your debt for you, but I’m sure Valentine won’t accept cash or credit card as a form of payment. It’s up to you.” He gives Underhill a moment to think about his options. When there’s no more response he asks, “Have you come into some extra cash recently? Maybe won the lottery or had an unknown rich relative die and leave you their fortune?”

“Of course not. I wouldn’t still be here if I had.”

“Well then, I suggest you shut your mouth and do as you're told.”

Finished with the conversation, Aldertree turns and walks down the short hallway leading to the stairs. Before he follows, Underhill glances back into the room at Jace’s inert figure. With a sigh, he resigns himself to his fate and follows Aldertree downstairs.


	18. Panic! At The Disco

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts Filled: PARANOIA and PANIC ATTACKS
> 
> Trigger Warning: Panic Attack
> 
> Chapter Tags: Grief, Sadness

* * *

  
They’ve been sitting on the cold floor in the middle of the NYPD precinct for a while. Various other police officers and detectives have leaned down to pat them on the back and offer their condolences. “I’m so sorry for your loss,” and “Wayland was a great guy and an even better detective.” Also, “Let me know if I can do anything for you,” and the ever popular, “You’ll be in my thoughts and prayers.” Eventually, all of the consolations become a meaningless jumble of useless words. They’ve heard the same people move on to Izzy and Simon and recite the same litany of phrases.

Finally, Magnus decides that they’ve been on the floor long enough. He leans back from Alec and Clary but leaves his hands on their backs, rubbing up and down to try to continue to comfort them. “How about we get up off the floor, hmm?”

Alec looks at him with his red-rimmed, swollen eyes and nods in agreement. “Yeah, okay,” he says quietly. He places a finger under Clary’s chin and brings her head up from where it’s been resting on his chest. He studies her tear-stained face for a moment, he’s sure they both look similarly worn out, and asks her if she’s okay to stand. 

“I think so.” Magnus rises gracefully first then offers his hand to Clary. She takes it and manages to stand, even though her legs are weak. She stumbles a bit at first and Magnus steadies her. “Sit down here,” he says as he pulls one of the desk chairs out for her. She smiles a half smile at him and sinks gratefully into the chair.

Magnus then turns his attention to Alec, who, for some reason, is still sitting on the floor. Alec looks up at him, “I’m not sure but it seems I may be stuck down here. My legs don’t want to work.”

“I’m not surprised. You could hardly get out of bed, what makes you think you can sit on the cold, hard floor for a long time then just hop right up?”

“Wishful thinking?” Alec answers.

Magnus just shakes his head fondly, “Come on, I’ll help you up.” He manages to get Alec to his feet without too much of a struggle. “Why don’t you sit down too? Let your muscles get warmed up again.” Alec doesn’t argue and sits down in the chair Magnus rolls over beside Clary for him. Alec takes Clary’s hand and squeezes, giving and receiving some silent comfort.

Izzy moves away from Simon then and closes the distance between herself and her brother. She grabs him around his shoulders and buries her head in his neck. Her tears begin anew as do Alec’s. Clary squeezes his hand as a signal that it’s okay to let go, so he does. She lets her freed hand rest on Alec’s knee. He wraps his arms around Izzy, holding her tight. Magnus and Simon both stand over the trio; Magnus has a hand on Alec’s back and one on Clary’s shoulder. Simon has a hand on Clary’s other shoulder and his other hand on Izzy’s back. 

After about five minutes in their circle of grief, comfort and support, Alec jumps to his feet. “Oh my God!” He looks almost hysterical and he’s glancing wildly around the room.

“What is it?” Magnus asks him.

“I just...I realized…they’re coming for you and Iz next.” The seriousness in Alec’s tone is concerning.

Magnus’ brow furrows in confusion. He looks at Alec and asks, “Why would you think that?”

“I don’t think it, I _know_ it.” Alec looks at Simon. “Simon. We’ve got to get them somewhere safe. The Circle is coming for them.” Alec’s paranoia is starting to ramp up. He’s talking very quickly and animatedly.

“Alec, we’re at the police station, there’s no safer place to be,” Simon replies.

“No, Simon, you don’t understand.” Alec grabs Simon by the front of his shirt with both hands, so Simon is forced to look at and listen to him. “The Circle…they know I was the judge who presided over Dieudonne’s case, right? They also know that the Bane & Lightwood law firm represented the state during the trial. If they don’t already know, they’ll figure out that it was Magnus and Izzy themselves who prosecuted the case.”

“Okay, that may be true but-“

Alec doesn't let Simon finish, “They obviously already have Izzy’s cell phone number. They called her on it when they first abducted me. They’ll be able to track her with it!” 

Izzy tries to help slow Alec’s spiral. She pries his hands away from Simon's shirt and holds them herself as she says, “Calm down, Alec. We’re fine.”

Alec pulls away from her. “No, Izzy! You’re fine now, but they know you’re my sister and that Magnus is my husband.” He clutches at his stomach and almost doubles over with a painful cramp. Magnus is at his side immediately. 

“What’s wrong, Alexander?” He places a hand on Alec’s chest and the other on Alec’s back. Alec grabs onto Magnus’ arm. “Alec, your heart is racing and your shirt is soaked with sweat.”

Quickly Alec stands and goes stock still as another realization washes over him. He begins to tremble and turns his eyes, full of terror, to Simon and Clary. “They’ve just killed my brother. They’re not going to stop until my whole family is dead. Simon, Clary, we have to do something. Now! We have to keep them safe! Valentine is coming for them! I know he is!!!”

Alec begins gasping for breath, clutching at Magnus, and looking at him with wild, panic-filled eyes as he falls to the floor. Magnus catches him enough to soften his landing. Alec is on the floor, fighting for breath but his lungs aren't filling with air. He’s clutching onto Magnus so tightly his knuckles are white. “Come on Alec. Don’t do this, you’ve got to calm down and breathe for me,” Magnus tells him.

Clary rushes over with a brown paper lunch bag and hands it to Magnus. “Here make him breathe into this.” Magnus manages to get Alec to breathe into the bag and finally, after several minutes, Alec’s breathing returns to almost normal and the death-grip he had on Magnus loosens.

“Come on. Let’s get him into my office,” Simon instructs. He and Magnus help Alec up and they half-carry him to Simon’s office. “Put him on the couch.” Simon tells Magnus as he indicates towards the couch with a nod of his chin. 

Clary and Izzy follow them into Simon’s office. Clary has a glass of water that she gives to Alec. “Drink this,” she tells him. He takes the glass from her and takes a few sips.

Magnus kneels down in front of him and puts his hands on Alec’s thighs, rubbing back and forth. “Are you okay? You really scared us all.”

Alec looks around the room at all the concerned faces. “I’m sorry. I’ve never had a panic attack before. The paranoia overwhelmed me.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s understandable,” Magnus says. “You’ve had a terrifying experience and been under enormous amounts of stress. Do you think you’re okay now?”

“I’m okay. And I know you’re all okay, but Jace isn’t. What do we do now?” he asks as his voice cracks with emotion.

Magnus frowns at him as he says, “We grieve.”


	19. Broken Hearts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts Filled: GRIEF, SURVIVOR'S GUILT
> 
> Chapter Tags: More grief and sadness

* * *

  
Simon’s office is quiet. Alec has recovered from his panic attack, but his grief is still fresh. It will be for a long time, for all of them. Magnus has moved to sit on the couch beside Alec. He has his right arm crossing his body, holding on to Alec’s right hand. His left arm is around Alec’s shoulders, hugging him in close so Alec can rest his head on his shoulder. Clary is seated on the couch, to the other side of Alec. Izzy and Simon have pulled up chairs next to them and they are all just trying to comfort and support each other.

They’ve been like that for about thirty minutes when Alec takes a ragged breath and his tears start to fall again. Magnus looks at him with concern. “Alexander? What is it? Are you in pain?”

Alec hesitates which makes Magnus sit up straighter and move his arm from behind Alec, which also causes Alec to sit up. He drops his chin down to his chest and he watches as tears splash onto his hands, which are now clasped together on his lap. Magnus turns in towards Alec and grabs both of Alec’s hands. He ducks his head down so that he’s in Alec’s line of vision. He takes Alec’s chin between his thumb and forefinger and gently raises Alec’s head so he can look him in the eyes. “Sweetheart, please talk to me. Remember our discussion about holding things back from me and how you don’t have to do that? Please, I want you to tell me what’s bothering you.”

“Of course I remember.”

“Okay, so please…what is it?”

Alec sighs. “I’m not in pain, no more than I have been. I just keep thinking that if I would have gotten him out of that house, Jace would still be alive. Or maybe if I would have stayed, they would have let Jace go. I should have just agreed from the start to overturn Dieudonne’s sentence, but I was a stubborn ass. Shit, if I wouldn’t have gotten kidnapped in the first place, Jace wouldn’t have had to rescue me and he’d still be alive. This is all my fault.”

Izzy speaks out after that last statement, “I know you’re not blaming yourself for being _kidnapped_. Alec, you had no control over that. You were knocked unconscious and abducted.”

“No, Iz. I could have, should have, fought back. I should have seen them coming, shouldn’t have cut down that alley. It _is_ my fault.”

“Alec, that’s enough. I’m not listening to this anymore,” Clary declares. She reaches over and takes his hands from Magnus. “Look at me, please.”

He takes a deep breath and turns his head toward her. She’s very serious when she says, “Listen to me. You did not do this. This was the Circle.”

“But if I would have…” Alec starts, but Clary stops him with a “No” before he can finish his sentence. “I won’t let you blame yourself then wallow in guilt. This is not on you. It’s not on any of us, not even Jace. Everyone was just doing their jobs. Our jobs come with inherent risks, and we all decided those risks were worth it before we started. It’s going to hurt like hell in the meantime, fuck is it gonna hurt, but it will get better, eventually. We’ll get through this together. Okay?”

Alec sniffs then pulls her into his embrace. “Yeah, okay. I love you. You are the best thing that ever happened to Jace and a great friend to me.”

“I love you, too.” They stay like that for a few minutes then there’s a knock on the door. Simon pats Izzy on the shoulder as he gets up to answer it.

“I’m sorry to interrupt you sir,” Officer Santiago apologizes. “Could I please speak with you out here?” he asks as he indicates the squad room behind him.

“Sure, just…one sec.” Simon turns around and walks back to Izzy. He leans down to tell her, “I’m needed outside for a moment. I’ll be right back, okay?” She nods. He kisses her on the top of her head as he brushes his hand down her hair to her back then leaves his office, pulling the door closed behind him. He meets Santiago and another officer over at their desks.

“First of all, what are you doing here Santiago? You’re supposed to be on leave for 48 hours after discharging your weapon.”

“I know, but Detective Williams called me about Jace. I couldn’t stay at home. I need to be involved in taking down these assholes so here I am but we wanted to let you spend some time with your family before we spoke to you.”

“Spoke to me about what?”

“Williams and I have started planning the raid of the Circle’s hideout. We want your input, if you have a minute. If not, we can check in with you later. Or if you need to remove yourself from this case, we can call the captain at another precinct and they can head up the mission. It’s up to you.”

“I don’t think that will be necessary. Give me five more minutes with the family and I’ll join you in the conference room.”

“10-4 Captain. Meet you there in five.”

Simon turns and leaves Officer Santiago and Detective Williams and goes back into his office. All eyes turn toward him as he enters the room. He shakes his head. “No new information, sorry. We’ve got to start planning for the strike of that safe house.” He goes to Izzy and she stands to meet him. He pulls her into his arms and hugs her tight. He looks over her head to Magnus and Alec, who are still seated on the couch with Clary. “Magnus, Alec, I’m probably going to be here all night. Would it be okay if Izzy and Clary stayed with you tonight? I don’t want either of them to be alone.”

“Absolutely. I agree one hundred percent.” Magnus looks at Alec, “If that’s alright with you, of course.”

“I don’t want them to be anywhere else either. I think we all need as much support as we can get.”

Izzy and Clary both say, “Agreed” in unison.

“Great. You all stay here as long as you like. I’ve got to get to work.” He gives Izzy one last kiss then leaves his office to plan the mission that will destroy the Circle and recover the body of his fallen officer and friend.


	20. What's the Protocol for Something Like This?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alt Prompt: PRESUMED DEAD
> 
> Chapter Tags: Who would have guessed??...Grief and Sadness

* * *

  
“I don’t know about anybody else, but I want to get out of here,” says Clary. Simon had only left them a few minutes ago. “I need a change of scenery.”

Izzy, Alec and Magnus all shake their heads in agreement. “Ok, we can all ride back to our place together if you want,” Magnus says. 

“Sure, that will be good. We rode in with Simon,” Izzy tells him.

They gather their things and make their way out of the precinct. Their group is stopped several times by more people offering their condolences. They are all so relieved to finally get to the relative solitude of the car. 

They drive home in complete silence. Magnus is driving and Alec is in the passenger seat beside him. Magnus is holding Alec’s hand, their elbows resting on the center console. Every now and then they’ll look at each other and Magnus will squeeze Alec’s hand then rub circles on the back of it with his thumb. Izzy and Clary sit in the back seat in a similar position, offering each other as much silent comfort as possible.

Alec and Magnus live in a three-story townhouse in Brooklyn that was built in 1899. It’s got a lot of the original character but they did a major renovation when they bought it, to really make it their own. There are four bedrooms each with their own ensuite bathroom, and plenty of extra living area for them all to have some space to themselves…if they want it. If not, it’s also warm, cozy, and inviting if they want to be together. 

They all flop down onto the couch or oversized chairs in the living room and just sit quietly for a few moments in a daze. No one really knowing what to do next. 

Magnus stands up from the couch then breaks the silence when he announces, “I’m going to the grocery store to get some food.”

“I’ll come with you,” Alec looks up at him and says.

“No, you stay here and rest. I won’t be gone long.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. No offense to any of you, I need to be alone for a few minutes.”

“Okay. We understand. Take your time.”

Magnus stops on his way out the door to tell them, “Text me if you think of anything you want or need,” then he’s gone, closing the door behind him.

“If it’s okay with you Alec, I’d like to get a shower,” says Clary, as she stands from the chair she had sunk down into.

“Sure. You can have whichever room you want. There should be fresh towels in the ensuite. I’ll find you some clean clothes and put them on the bed for you.”

“Thanks. I appreciate the hospitality.”

“You say that like this is a hotel or something, instead of a home where you’re always welcome. I hope you know that…,” he hesitates and looks away from her for a second to gather his emotions. He stands from the couch as he makes eye contact with her again and continues, “…just because Jace is gone, doesn’t mean you’re not welcome here, in this house, or in this family anymore. You’re a part of us, forever.”

Clary moves over to him and hugs him tight. He winces a bit and inhales sharply. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” Clary says.

“It’s fine,” he answers, then squeezes her just as hard. The next thing they know, Izzy has enveloped both of them in her arms. They each put one arm around Izzy too and they all stand in the middle of the living room in a group hug.

“Ok,” Clary clears her throat and sniffles as she steps back from Alec and Izzy. She wipes a stray tear or two from her eyes and says, “I’m going to take a shower.” She leaves the room to go and do just that. 

“I’ll go find her some clothes,” Alec tells his sister. “Of course, you know to make yourself at home. I’ll be right back.”

“Yep, I’m good. Don’t worry about me,” Izzy responds.

Alec finds a pair of Magnus’ sweatpants (they won’t be so overly long as a pair of his own would) and a t-shirt for Clary. He can hear the shower running in the bedroom next to the master suite. He knocks on the bedroom door, when he gets no response, he opens the door and quickly puts the clothes on the bed for Clary to find.

He comes back into the living room to find Izzy standing where he left her, staring out into space, with a pensive look on her face

“Iz? You okay?”

“Huh?” Izzy asks as she shakes herself out of her trance and looks at Alec.

He walks across the room to her and places his right hand on her left bicep, gently rubbing up and down. “I said, are you okay?”

“Um, I’m just wondering…”

“Wondering what?”

“Alec, what do we do now?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…do we plan a funeral? We don’t…we don’t, have his body, so we can’t have a funeral, can we? Do we call people, you know, friends and family? How do we deliver a message like this? How do we tell them that our brother…“ her voice catches and she can’t continue. The lump in her throat won’t let any more words out so she just stands there and cries into her hands instead. Alec wraps her up in his long arms and holds her, rubbing her back, his head resting against the top of hers until her tears fade. He pulls away from her enough to look at her face.

“I’ll tell you what I think we should do, and you tell me how you feel about it.”

“Okay.”

“I say we don’t do anything today. We wait for Simon. They’re going to move on the house soon. When they do, I know one of his primary objectives will be to recover Jace’s body. Once he does that, then we make a plan. After that we’ll notify people. How’s that sound?”

Izzy nods her head in agreement. “That makes sense to me.”

“Good. Now, how about some tea?”

“Sure.” Izzy follows Alec into the kitchen and that’s where Magnus finds them when he returns from the store. Clary has joined them, feeling refreshed and more relaxed after her shower.

“Hey.” Alec looks up and says to him when he enters the room. “Doing okay?”

“Yes, darling. I’m good.” He puts the grocery bags down on the counter and goes over to press a kiss to his husband’s cheek. “You okay?”

“I’m okay.”

“Well, okay.” Magnus laughs. “How about I make us all some lunch? I’ve got to keep my hands and mind busy or I’ll very quickly be not okay.”

“Sure. Is this all the groceries?”

“There’s some more bags in the car. I’ll get them.”

While Magnus goes to get the remaining groceries, the rest of them jump into action unpacking the shopping bags. Magnus returns with both arms loaded down with bags. Alec’s unpacking a bag and laughs when he pulls out four different bottles of wine. “Planning a party I don’t know about?” he asks Magnus.

Magnus shrugs. “I wasn’t sure what everyone would want so I bought a selection,” he says. “There’s a couple of bottles in the fridge already, but I was pretty sure we’d need more.”

“Umm, I’m not sure we should believe that story, Alec,” Clary says. “Your secret party theory seems legit.”

“Why’s that?” he asks, laughing as he turns to where she’s unloading some more bags. There are all kinds of paper products - plates, bowls, napkins, toilet paper – all spread out on the counter in front of her.

“This,” Clary indicates the supplies, “and all of the extra food Magnus just hauled in here makes it seem like we’re expecting a lot of company.”

Magnus sighs and they look towards him. He remorsefully tells them, “I’m just being practical. I feel like there will be a lot of people here…when they find out about Jace. You know how people are. They want to come by to “sit for a minute” and give their condolences. We’ll need food and all that stuff, believe me.”

“Oh,” is all Clary says. Everyone else is quiet as the mood in the room shifts. 

“Goddammit,” Izzy sniffles. “Who else needs a drink?” she asks as she opens the refrigerator.

Everyone answers, “Me." She selects one of the bottles of chilled wine and turns to Magnus, “Where’s the corkscrew?”


	21. Toto, I Have a Feeling We're Not in Kansas Anymore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alt Prompt: STITCHES
> 
> Trigger Warning: Needles
> 
> Chapter Tags: Gunshot Wound, Medical Jargon and Procedures, Loss of Consciousness, Drugged

* * *

  
Underhill returns to Jace’s room about 30 minutes later. He’d gone out to purchase some supplies: latex gloves, gauze, tape, scissors, more antiseptic wound cleanser, antibiotic ointment, and a suture kit. He has also brought with him a couple of soft cloths and a syringe. He kneels down on the mattress beside Jace’s body and lays out all of his supplies. The gunshot wound to Jace’s left shoulder doesn’t look too bad, but it definitely needs to be cleaned up. The last thing he wants is to be involved in the death of a police officer.

He puts on a pair of gloves and gets to work. He lifts Jace’s shirt away from the bullet wound and cuts out a large piece of the fabric so he can access the wound better. It looks like the bullet went clear through, even cauterizing some of the vessels so it hasn’t been bleeding too much. He starts to clean the area with the antiseptic cleanser. Jace is still unconscious, his head smacked the floor pretty hard, but his face scrunches up when the cleanser gets in the open wound. It probably really burns. Underhill continues his ministrations wiping away any blood surrounding the area. That done, he moves onto the wound itself. As soon as the cleanser hits the open wound again, Jace’s eyes pop open and he surges up from the mattress into a sitting position. He’s breathing rapidly and wheezing, his chest heaving. His eyes are darting around the room. When they land on Underhill, Jace shrinks back away from him.

Underhill raises his hands in surrender. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m just here to bandage you up. The wound on your shoulder needs to be cleaned and stitched or you’re gonna get a nasty infection.”

“Wound on my…?” Jace moves his left arm and pain shoots all the way down to his fingertips. “What the hell happened?”

“How much do you remember?”

“I remember being downstairs, on my knees…and umm, ah, shit…a video call to my family. Valentine Morgenstern with a gun pointed at me then…waking up here.”

Jace reaches his right hand over towards his left shoulder. He feels the stickiness of the blood on his shirt then pain lances through his shoulder as he grazes the bullet hole. “Aaaggghhh!” The yell sends him into a coughing fit which makes him grab his ribs. After he mostly gets his breath back, he’s able to wheeze out, “That motherfucker shot me?”

Underhill is apologetic when he says, “He did. You’re lucky he still needs you or you’d be dead right now.”

“I’d almost rather _be_ dead. I feel like shit. I can’t breathe right, I hurt all over and I have a hole in my shoulder.”

He pauses for a few moments to catch his breath. “To top it all off, I’ve let my family down. In my failed attempt to rescue my brother, I ended up getting captured.” Another pause then Jace’s eyes go wide as realization dawns on him, “Oh God, they must think I’m dead. Some brother and detective I am.”

“I can’t do anything about that right now, but I can help with your wound and the pain. Let’s deal with your shoulder first. Since you’re sitting up, I’m going to work on the exit wound on the back of your shoulder first, okay?”

Jace nods so Underhill moves around behind his back. “The bullet went clear through. I need to clean, stitch and bandage this side. I’m going to raise your shirt up, okay?”

“Why are you doing this? Most mobsters don’t really care about their hostages.”

“I’m not most mobsters.”

“I can tell. How’d you get messed up with the Circle?”

“It’s a long story and I can’t talk about it. Just let me get you into some kind of condition so you can handle traveling.”

“Traveling?!? We’re not staying here??” Underhill can hear the panic in Jace’s voice. Moving means the police will no longer know where they are, so Jace’s chances of being rescued are severely diminished.

“No, we can’t stay here anymore. Obviously, the police know where we are so Aldertree is coordinating the move to a new safe house. We won’t be here much longer.”

Neither of them says more after that. Underhill lifts Jace’s shirt out of the way and he starts to clean the exit wound. He uses a soft cloth drenched in antiseptic to clean the area surrounding the wound and then the wound itself. Jace hisses with the burn of the antiseptic and tears gather in his eyes.

“I can’t imagine how bad this hurts. I’m sorry, I’m trying to be as gentle as I can but I’m afraid I can’t make the next step gentle. The stitches are gonna hurt like hell. I’ve got some of that sedative Aldertree gave you before. I can give you a lower dose…if you want.”

“No, I don’t want any drugs. Just do it.”

“Okay, if you say so.”

Underhill opens the sterile suture kit, threads the needle then pinches the open sides of the wound together with his thumb and forefinger. “Ready?” he asks before he pierces the skin for the first stitch.

“As I’ll ever be.”

“Alright, here goes.” Underhill has about half of the stitches done when Jace starts swaying. “You alright?” he asks.

“I’m just a little light-headed,” Jace answers. “Keep going.”

“Okay.” He finishes the final stitch on the back of Jace’s shoulder, puts on a bandage and pulls Jace’s shirt back down. He moves back beside Jace and he can see Jace’s face clearly again. His skin has a grey pallor to it, and he’s covered in a sheen of sweat. “Hey man, you don’t look so good.”

Jace raises his head to look at him. When he replies, “I don’t feel so good,” he’s almost slurring like he’s drunk. He sways again, his eyes roll back in his head and he falls back down onto the mattress, passed out from the pain.

“It’s probably better that you did pass out,” Underhill says to him as if Jace is conscious and can answer him back. “I still have the front to do.” So he does just that. He stitches the wound closed, applies the antibiotic ointment and covers it with a bandage.

Jace’s breaths are ragged and it seems that he’s working a bit hard to breathe. Underhill starts talking to Jace again, even though Jace is still unconscious. “I know you said no drugs, but I think you need them for your breathing. I can’t stitch that injury up but I can help ease it a bit.” He grabs the syringe from his pile of supplies and injects Jace with a dose much smaller than the one Aldertree gave him yesterday. “That should help. I’ll check on you later.”

Underhill gathers all of the supplies and any trash then leaves the room. He’ll stand guard and periodically check on the detective.

♦♦♦♦

“Pangborn. I assume you’re calling with my update?” Valentine says immediately when he answers his phone.

“Yes, sir. Reporting that Aldertree thinks he’s locked down the next location and we should be moving at sundown. Also, the hostage woke up. His wound has been stitched and bandaged. Underhill is watching him.”

“Good. Any other news?”

“I’m not positive but the cops may have surveillance posted across the street. I’m keeping watch, looking for signs of confirmation.”

“Hmm, that’s not surprising. I’m sure they're planning their next raid as we speak, that’s why Aldertree has to make the move...and soon. Report back if anything changes. Contact me when Aldertree is ready.”

Valentine disconnects the call and Pangborn hangs up. He moves to his post at the front window, where he can see around the board covering the busted glass but is hidden from view from the outside. He’s got a good view of the street out front. If anything happens, he’ll know about it.


	22. I Don't Feel So Well

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alt Prompt: ALTERED STATES
> 
> Chapter Tags: Alcohol Use

* * *

  
Magnus reaches into the drawer in front of him and grabs the corkscrew then hands it to Izzy. “Here. You know where the glasses are,” he tells her.

“Yep, I do. Who wants a glass?” she asks as she reaches into the cabinet.

Magnus and Clary both repeat their desire for a drink. Izzy doesn’t hear a response from Alec, so she turns from the cabinet and asks, “Alec? What about you?”

“You know...I’ve changed my mind. I’m gonna pass on the drinks tonight,” he answers.

“Ok. Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m just…I don’t know…out of sorts, I guess.”

Immediately concerned, Magnus stops what he’s doing and goes over to Alec. “What do you mean ‘out of sorts’? What’s wrong? Has something changed?”

“Nothing different, just, the headache has gotten worse and I still have some dizziness. Maybe if I eat something it’ll help. If not, I’ll take some more medicine.”

“Are you sure? We can go to the doctor’s office. I’m sure Clary and Izzy will be fine here for a while.”

“We will, absolutely,” Clary answers. “Alec, please go see a doctor. There may be something worse going on that you’re not aware of.”

“I appreciate your concern but I’m alright. I don’t need to see a doctor. I’m just sore and tired. A little food and rest is all I need.”

Magnus isn’t totally sold on that but he’s not going to push. “Fine…for now.” He grabs Alec’s arm and turns his body to face him, making sure Alec is looking at him and listening before he continues. He points his finger at him to emphasize his next statements, “But I’m going to be watching you like a hawk. If I see something I don’t like, no arguments, we’re going to the hospital. I mean it.”

“Yes sir,” Alec straightens up to his full height and replies like a soldier answering his commanding officer.

Magnus is profoundly serious. “I’m not joking Alexander. One little change and you’re seeing a doctor.”

“Yes, yes, okay,” Alec gives in. He sighs, “Do you all mind if I just sit down for a bit?”

“Are you kidding?! Alec, please, we _want_ you to rest. We’ll help Magnus put everything away and make lunch. We’ll let you know when it’s ready,” Izzy tells him as she takes his hand and leads him over to the couch. “Here. Lay down on the couch for a bit, okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” he says as he sinks into the couch and stretches out his long limbs. He puts an arm over his eyes to block out the afternoon sun and exhales a shaky breath.

Izzy returns to the kitchen and looks back at her brother. “I’m so glad your house has an open-concept layout, Magnus. We can still keep an eye on him while we work.”

Magnus sighs. “Me too, Isabelle. Me too.”

♦♦♦♦

Simon has his team gathered in the conference room. “So, the first mission was, to put it lightly, not so successful. We got Judge Lightwood out but there were other casualties and now the Circle has killed another cop, on camera. We’ve got to take the Circle down, once and for all. Officer Santiago, Detective Williams, what have you got so far?”

Santiago begins. “Surveillance reports Valentine left the house not long after the video call ended. They say he arrived with 5 additional associates, but only four left with him. It appears someone stayed behind to take Verlac’s place. There’s been no additional activity since then.”

Detective Williams continues, “The officers that are watching the house have asked permission to infiltrate the location now. They know Valentine is going to change hideouts at any time now. Valentine is smart. He knows we’ll be coming for him and he’s not going to hang around there. They want to capture the Circle members while they still can, and I’m sure they want vengeance for Detective Wayland.”

“No. They stay where they are. We don’t need two more dead cops,” is Simon’s answer.

Williams nods his head in agreement. “Yes sir. That’s why we told them to stand down.”

“Good. I want to know immediately if there are any other changes.”

“Yes, sir. We’ll follow-up with them periodically and let you know,” confirms Santiago.

“Okay, now, back to the current mission. Here’s what I’m thinking...” All the officers in the room gather around as Simon starts to describe the next plan of attack.

♦♦♦♦

After a simple, light lunch, Clary, Izzy, Magnus and Alec are all relaxing in the living room. Magnus is sitting on the floor beside the couch, next to Alec’s hip. Alec is resting his hand on Magnus’ shoulder and every now and then he reaches up to run his fingers through Magnus’ hair. Magnus leans into his touch, every time.

Clary is sitting in one of the oversized, comfy armchairs. One leg is curled under her and the other is draped over the arm of the chair. She’s got a glass of wine in her hand. “You know,” she hiccups and tries to shake the wine-drunk from her foggy brain, “we should call Simon. I would like to talk to him about the mission.” She’s very serious but also very drunk.

“Yes!” Izzy agrees. She’s sitting cross-legged in the other armchair and attempts to find her cell phone, while holding on to her own wine glass. “Where’s my phone? I’m gonna call…wait…who am I gonna call?” she slurs. Between the both of them, three bottles of wine have been emptied.

Alec looks at Magnus and they both laugh at the girls. “Iz, it’s the middle of the afternoon and you two are toasted. I don’t think either one of you need to be calling the chief of police and demanding to know about his current mission.”

Izzy snaps her fingers, “Ah ha! That’s right. I’m gonna call the chief of police, that’s Simon. He’s…” She looks at Magnus and Alec like she’s going to tell a big secret she doesn’t want them to know. She leans forward in her chair and puts her hand up to her mouth to shield it from Alec and Magnus’ view as she tells Clary, “… _my lover_.” She giggles like a schoolgirl and Alec just rolls his eyes at her.

“If you were trying to keep that a secret, Iz, you’re doing a shit job at it,” he tells her. “Plus, if you thought you whispered that, I’ve got some bad news for you. You’re always loud when you’re drunk. You’re making my headache worse.”

Izzy just glares at her brother.

“Alright, well, I think what we all could use is a nap,” says Magnus as he rises up off the floor. “I know I could use a rest, even if it’s just a couple of hours.”

“Yeah, I could go for that,” Alec agrees.

Clary protests, “But I’m not tired and it’s not even dark yet.”

“Even so, we’re all physically and emotionally exhausted. Let’s just try to rest or nap for a few hours. We could all use it. Simon will call us if there is any new information,” Magnus reasons. He’s not sure if his argument was just that good or if Clary knows he’s right but all she says is “Okay” then Izzy agrees too.

With a sigh, Clary and Izzy get up from their chairs and sway on their feet a bit. They grab ahold of each other for support and arm in arm they slowly go upstairs to their rooms. Magnus watches their slow progress and turns to Alec to tell him, “I’m going to follow them. Make sure they get upstairs okay. I’ll be right back down.”

Alec smiles at his husband. “Okay, I’ll be here.” Alec throws his arm over his eyes again and tries to will his head to stop hurting and his body to cooperate with him. He’s starting to feel nauseous, but he doesn’t want to tell Magnus and worry him. He figures if it goes away on its own, Magnus never has to know.


	23. What's a Whumpee Gotta Do to Get Some Sleep Around Here?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts Filled: EXHAUSTION and SLEEP DEPRIVATION
> 
> Chapter Tags: Sleeplessness and a little bit of comfort

* * *

  
When Magnus comes back into the living room after making sure Clary and Izzy were situated in their rooms, he’s greeted with the sounds of Alec’s gentle snores. His husband is laid out on the couch, one arm over his eyes while the other is hanging down off the couch so his hand rests on the floor. Magnus chuckles adoringly to himself and just stands there and watches Alec sleep. He thinks about all of the horrors his husband has experienced over the last few days and marvels at Alec’s strength. He’s going to need to draw on that strength even more in the days to come. Magnus is going to do everything in his power to make sure Alec has enough to make it through. He’s so glad Alec is home and safe. The last four days have been hell for him too. Not knowing if Alec was alive or dead. He can’t imagine his life without him.

He watches him for another minute or so then goes over and leans down to press a kiss to the top of Alec’s head. He stays leaning over Alec as he gently shakes him awake. “Alexander, darling, let’s go upstairs.” Immediately, Alec leaps off the couch, eyes wide and terror filled. His arms are raised as if he’s ready to fight or protect himself and he’s breathing heavily.

Magnus raises his hands in surrender as he says, “Whoa, whoa, hey it’s just me. You’re home, you’re okay.”

Once Alec’s eyes settle on Magnus and he has a second to take in his surroundings, he lowers his fists and his breathing starts to slow. “Oh God, Magnus. I’m sorry. I guess I was dreaming or something and you startled me.”

Magnus closes the short distance between them and hugs Alec to him. “It’s okay, totally understandable. I shouldn’t have startled you.”

Alec sighs into Magnus’s shoulder. “No, no, you didn’t mean to. I’m just still really jumpy.”

“How about we go upstairs and rest for a few hours? I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted. I could use a nap and I’d really like you to come lay with me.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty tired too. Let’s go.” Alec takes Magnus’ hand and they go upstairs to their bedroom. They take off their shoes but don’t even bother with anything else. They lay down on top of the bedspread and pull a large cozy blanket over themselves. They snuggle in close to each other and within minutes, each of them is asleep.

♦♦♦♦

Izzy can’t sleep. She wants to, she’s exhausted, but every time she closes her eyes the video of Jace being shot replays in her mind. Then her mind won’t quiet. The same questions of ‘What do we do now?’, ‘Who do we call?’, ‘How do we make funeral arrangements?’ keep repeating.

If it’s not Jace, it’s Alec. The video call she received the day he was kidnapped. She sees it in her mind’s eye exactly as it happened, in detail. Every word that was said, speck of blood, or tear that was shed. She’s tossed and turned for what must have been an hour. She needs something to ground her, to make her feel like she’s not alone. She stands from the bed, gathers her blanket, and leaves the bedroom. She knocks lightly on Clary’s door then opens it a crack to ask, “Clary? Are you asleep?”

“I wish,” is Clary’s reply.

“Can I come in? I can’t sleep either.”

“Please.”

Izzy goes over to the bed and lays down facing Clary, covering herself up with her blanket. “Thanks. I just keep seeing the videos of Jace and Alec every time I close my eyes.”

“Me too,” says Clary with a sigh. They lay there for a minute or two then Clary confesses, “Izzy, I’m so tired. The last four days have been the worst of my life. It’s just been nonstop pain and horror. I can’t imagine what it was like, what it _is_ like, for Alec. And now he’s being so strong and resilient, after everything. It’s like he’s just got a bruise or two but otherwise he’s fine, no big deal. I’m a mess and I only lived these days as an outsider looking in on the terror.”

“He’s always been strong but I think he’s hiding the trauma well. I’m so glad he has Magnus. I’m afraid he’s going to need his strength for a long time.”

Clary doesn’t have anything to add to that. She knows Izzy is right. They’re all going to need to rely on each other to get through these next several days, months, maybe even years. She’s more exhausted just thinking about it. “I’m going to try to sleep again, if you don’t mind,” she tells Izzy.

“No, I was hoping you would so I could too. Maybe just being here together will keep the nightmares away.”

Clary gives her a half smile and holds out her hand to Izzy. Izzy takes it and they lay there together, trying to get a least a little bit of fitful sleep.

♦♦♦♦

Magnus couldn’t stay asleep even though he tried so he watched Alec sleep instead. Alec is restless and fidgety. He’s been mumbling Jace’s name over and over, but he hasn’t woken up. He becomes more agitated when he starts repeating Izzy’s name. Magnus is hesitant to wake him considering what happened in the living room. Right before he decides to go ahead and do it, Alec’s face scrunches up as if he’s in pain and a single tear escapes his eye and tracks down his cheek. With increasing urgency he begins to say Magnus’ name over and over again, “Magnus. No. Magnus. Magnus,” then he sits bolt upright, awake in bed as he screams “NO! MAGNUS!!”

Alec is frantic but Magnus is immediately up beside him, pulling him into his arms, rocking him, trying to comfort him with, “I’m here. I’m right here. It’s fine.”

All Alec can do is hold on tightly to his husband and weep into his chest, and Magnus lets him. Once Alec’s sobs have subsided Magnus asks, “Want to tell me what happened?”

Alec keeps his face buried in Magnus’ chest and shakes his head no. “I need a minute,” is his muffled reply. He inhales a shaky breath and Magnus tells him, “Take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere.”

When Alec is ready, he sits up from Magnus’ chest and takes a cleansing breath. Magnus takes his hands in his and asks, “Ready?”

Alec nods. “Every time I close my eyes, I see Jace being shot. If it’s not Jace, it’s Verlac. Magnus, he was shot right in front of me. He wasn’t three feet away from me. If Santiago had been just a little bit off target, I could be dead right now.”

“I know. I can’t tell you how happy I am that Santiago is a good shot.”

“And I’m so tired, Magnus. I’m exhausted. I’ve never had this bone-deep weariness before in my life, not even during law school. I want to sleep, so badly, but if I do, all I have are nightmares about you being abducted and killed too. If it’s not you, it’s Izzy.”

“You’ve been through a trauma I can’t even imagine. I wish I could do more for you.”

“You just being here, me being here, home, safe with you is enough for now. I just want you to hold me and listen to me. Even if we both think I’m being paranoid and overreacting, I just can’t hold it all in anymore or I’m going to go insane. I need you to tell me everything is going to be alright even if you think it won’t be.”

Magnus takes Alec’s face in his hands and tilts Alec’s face up towards him so he can look into Alec’s beautiful hazel eyes. He hates the sadness, loss and grief he sees there now. “I can do that. I will do anything you need and want me to do for you. Always. I love you.”

“Thank you, Magnus. I love you too. So much.”

Magnus pulls Alec back down to lay on the bed with him and Alec lays his head on his chest. Magnus pulls the blanket back up over them and plays with Alec’s hair as he says, “Let’s try to sleep now. Everything is going to be alright. We’ll get through this together.”

Alec nods his head in agreement and exhales deeply. He feels safe and secure, cuddled up close in Magnus’ arms. It only takes a few minutes for Magnus to put him to sleep by running his fingers through his hair.

Once Alec’s breathing slows and Magnus can hear his adorable little snores, Magnus feels secure enough to relax into sleep, too.


	24. You're Not Making Any Sense

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts Filled: FORCED MUTISM and BLINDFOLDED
> 
> Trigger Warning: Minor Characters are Killed
> 
> Chapter Tags: Restrained, Gagged, Guns, Injuries

* * *

  
It's been almost six hours since Valentine gave him the ultimatum; find an available safe house or be punished with death. Aldertree has secured the new location, now he just has to coordinate the move of the hostage. He goes upstairs to speak with Underhill about the status of the detective. Underhill is at his post outside of the prisoner’s room. “How is the detective? Ready to move?” he asks as he approaches Underhill at the door.

“I gave him some meds earlier but they should be wearing off by now. I’ll check on him then get him ready. If there’s any reason why he can’t be moved, I’ll let you know,” Underhill answers.

“Good. I want him restrained, gagged and blindfolded. Bring him downstairs within the next half hour.”

“Yes sir.”

Aldertree turns to go back down the stairs, leaving Underhill to attend to Jace. When Underhill enters the room, Jace is awake and sitting up on the mattress. He’s running his hand across the back of his neck, like he’s trying to work out a kink. He looks at Underhill when he comes in. “Did you drug me?”

“I did. I gave you a small dose of a sedative. It helped you breathe easier and made you sleep.”

“It made me feel like I’ve been run over by a truck.”

“Well, it could actually be all the beatings or the gunshot wound that make you feel that way. The meds should have helped with that.”

Jace gives him a half laugh. “Ha, yeah, I guess it could be the fact that the meds have worn off.” He studies Underhill for a minute. “Why are you here now? Gonna dose me again?”

“No, we’re ready to move. I’ve got to get you prepared for transport.”

“Where are we going?”

“You know I couldn’t tell you…even if I knew, which I don’t,” says Underhill.

Jace is getting wary now. “So, what does ‘getting me ready for transport’ entail?”

“I’m sorry. I have to restrain, gag and blindfold you. It’ll be much better for both of us if you just let me do it. I won’t use that awful rope on your wrists, and I’ll make sure you have a clean gag and blindfold. There’s no need to make this any worse than it has to be.”

“To tell you the truth, as much as I want to, I’m not sure I could put up a very big fight anyway. Whatever that drug was, I’m still groggy as hell, my shoulder is killing me and I don’t have enough breath. I’m doing good to breathe just sitting here.” Jace winces as he adjusts his position on the mattress.

“Again, I’m sorry. I’ll be back later.” Underhill leaves the room and Jace contemplates if he really could put up a fight and what his odds may be of winning.

♦♦♦♦

Pangborn is coming down from the third floor attic when he meets Aldertree in the hallway. “What are you doing up there?” Aldertree asks him. 

“Confirming that we’re being watched. There’s NYPD surveillance in a house at the back and I’m pretty sure there’s another posted across the street out front.”

“Well, that’s upsetting but not surprising.” 

Pangborn continues, “Are you ready to move the hostage?”

“We’ll be ready within the next thirty minutes,” Aldertree confirms.

“Fine. I’ll update Valentine.”

“Yes, please do,” Aldertree says as he walks away from Pangborn and down the stairs to finish his part of the plan.

Pangborn ends his call with Valentine then finds Aldertree in the kitchen. “Valentine is sending the transport team. They should be here in fifteen.”

“Okay, fine. We’ll be ready. I’ll tell Underhill to prepare the detective.”

Jace looks up when Underhill enters the room, restraints in his hands. Jace wants to resist but he just physically can’t. He doesn’t put up a fight when Underhill ties his wrists behind him with a soft nylon rope and ties a clean cloth around his head and across his mouth, effectively muting him. Underhill helps him up from the mattress then down the stairs. Once they’re standing in the living room, Jace notices there is another person standing guard at the front window. He doesn’t have time to scan the rest of the room as Underhill gives Jace an apologetic look then puts on the blindfold. Underhill stays standing beside Jace, holding the rope around his wrists. 

Aldertree enters the living room with various pieces of equipment in his hands and announces, “Alright, the transition is a go. The team will be here momentarily.” He hands Underhill a 2-way radio with a connected earpiece and also gives a set to Pangborn. Underhill notes that Aldertree already has a set of his own. “These will keep us all connected during the move. The transport cars are each already equipped with one, as is Valentine. He will be listening remotely.”

Aldertree turns to Pangborn “Pangborn, I want you upstairs in the attic dormer window that faces the front of the house to cover us as we leave. When the cars pull up out front, Underhill you will guide the detective down the front steps into the first vehicle. As I said, Pangborn, you’ll cover us. From there the driver will take us to the new safe house. Any questions?”

Underhill and Pangborn both shake their heads ‘No’.

“Fine. Everyone connect your radios and turn them on now. The transport team will be here any minute. Pangborn, go get into position.”

“10-4,” Pangborn replies and he takes the steps upstairs two-at-a-time, carrying a large black duffle bag with him.

It’s not five minutes and two black sedans pull up in front of the house. Valentine’s voice comes across the radio, “Don’t fuck this up. I need the detective alive.” 

“Yes sir,” says Aldertree, who immediately goes to the front door to open it. He looks at Underhill and says, “Let’s go.”

Underhill guides Jace across the room and through the door. As they step onto the porch, they hear Pangborn on the radio and they stop in their tracks. “Valentine, sir, we definitely have company. Across the street two houses down, second floor, first window on our left.”

“You’re positive?” Valentine asks.

“Yes. The sun is setting behind our house and shining in that direction. I see it reflecting on their scope or binoculars.”

“You have your rifle?”

“Yes, sir. I’m looking through the scope right now.”

“Take care of it,” is the only command Valentine gives.

They don’t hear the sound of Pangborn’s rifle being fired. The only sound is of glass shattering then Pangborn saying one word over the radio, “Done.”

“Good, now cover the back.”

“Copy.” Pangborn moves to the matching dormer on the back side of the house.

Aldertree yells at Underhill, “Let’s go! Get in the damn car!”

Underhill manages to get a blindfolded Jace down the steps and into the car. The car pulls away and turns down the street that runs along the side of the house, towards the backyard. As they pass a house on their right, a man with his gun drawn is racing down the steps, apparently heading towards their car. “Shit, another cop,” Aldertree curses.

The cop doesn’t make it across the lawn before he drops to his knees then falls flat on the grass. Pangborn’s voice comes across the radio again, “Second target eliminated.” 

“Good work, Pangborn. Your job’s done. Evacuate the building. Meet at the rendezvous point,” Valentine instructs.

“Yes, sir.” Pangborn calmly disassembles his rifle, repacks it into his duffle bag, leaves the house and gets in the waiting sedan. They speed away from the house to meet up with the other Circle members at the new hideout.


	25. I Think I'll Just Collapse Right Here, Thanks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts Filled: DISORIENTATION, BLURRED VISION, RINGING EARS
> 
> Chapter Tags: Restrained, Gagged, Blindfolded

* * *

  
The black sedans finally come to stop at what Jace assumes is the new hideout. He has no idea where they are. They’ve been in the car for what feels like hours. However, it could be minutes, or they could have been driving in circles the whole time to try to confuse him. The car door opens then he feels hands grabbing his shoulder and the binding of his wrists. Underhill’s voice is next to his ear when he says, “Alright detective, we’re here. Please don’t try anything stupid. Swing your legs out and I’ll help you up.”

Jace can’t reply because of the gag and he couldn’t try anything if he wanted to. The drive and the remnants of the drug Underhill gave him have made him woozy, so he does as he’s told. He swings his legs out and, true to his word, Underhill helps him out of the car. Underhill puts his hand on Jace’s head as Jace stands up and tells him to “Watch your head.”

Underhill leads him straight into a building. Thankfully, there are no steps he has to try to navigate while blindfolded. “Sit him down in the chair. Make sure he can’t go anywhere,” Aldertree commands Underhill.

Jace is sat down on the chair. His wrists are untied, only to be re-tied in front of him. Pain lances through the gunshot wound on his shoulder when his wrists are released and his arms are free to move for a moment. “Sorry,” Underhill says, as he continues his work of tying Jace’s ankles to the chair. He then loops a rope around Jace’s waist and arms, fully confining him to the chair. 

Next Underhill removes the gag then the blindfold. Jace is disoriented when the light hits his eyes. He blinks several times and shakes his head to clear the fuzziness. He sees that he is in some kind of warehouse. He’s in a large, open space with ceilings that extend up to the second floor above him. He’s facing the end of the building that housed what he assumes were probably the bathrooms, and maybe a kitchen. Directly above those are two or three rooms, side-by-side, that appear to have been offices. Each office wall that faces into the warehouse is glass on the top, metal sheeting on the bottom, probably so the supervisors could look out over the manufacturing floor from inside their office. The offices are accessed from the ground floor by way of a steel staircase on one side of the space that opens up on a steel catwalk that runs the width of the building in front of the offices. The staircase and catwalk both have railings to keep anyone from falling off. The walls of the main area are all lined with rows and columns of windows that are fogged, discolored, and dulled with age. Many are broken or boarded over. 

“Where are we?” he asks Underhill. 

Underhill frowns at him. “Come on detective. You know the answer to that.”

“I know. You can’t tell me. Can’t blame a guy for trying though,” Jace shrugs as best he can while being tied to the chair. “Am I just going to be kept here, tied to the chair? What if we’re here for a while?”

“I don’t know what’s going to happen next. Aldertree hasn’t filled me in on that part yet. All I can tell you is that I’ll make you as comfortable as I can.”

“Well that’s something. I appreciate it. I hope this is all over…soon.”

Underhill replies, “So do I.” He pats Jace on his good shoulder then leaves him alone, sitting in the middle of the huge empty space.

♦♦♦♦

It’s been a few hours since Clary and Izzy were finally able to fall asleep and take a nap. Even though they’ve slept they’re both still feeling the effects of all the wine they drank earlier in the day. They decide to go downstairs and make some coffee. 

It’s not long before Magnus joins them. “Hey Magnus. Did you sleep?” Clary asks when he enters the kitchen.

“A little bit. Alec was having some trouble so I didn’t settle until he did, but I got a couple of hours rest. What about you two?”

Izzy answers, “We had some trouble too. I snuck into Clary’s room and we slept better when we weren’t alone.”

“You didn’t really _sneak_ into my room. You asked if you could come in. It only made sense since neither of us were sleeping,” Clary tells her. “We're just making some coffee Magnus. Would you like some?”

“Sure, that sounds good. Thanks.”

Once they each have their mugs full of coffee, they go get comfortable in the living room, each snuggled up in their own comfy, oversized armchair. There’s not a lot of talking but just being together is a balm to their aching souls. 

After a little while, they hear footsteps coming down the stairs. Alec appears at the foot of the stairs. “Hi big bro. How’d you sleep?” Izzy asks him as he makes his way over to the couch. 

“Fitfully,” he says with a sigh as he sits down. He rests his elbow on the arm of the couch and leans his head over towards his hand. He rubs the space between his eyes and grimaces as if he’s in pain. 

“Alec, are you okay? What’s hurting?” Izzy asks, concerned.

“This headache just keeps getting worse. I took a couple ibuprofen before coming down here. I’m hoping that will take the edge off.”

Clary gets up from her chair and announces, “I’m going to make you some tea,” as she goes into the kitchen. In a few minutes she’s back, smiling at Alec and handing him a mug. “Here. Drink this. A little warmth will soothe what ails you.”

He takes the mug from her and thanks her with a half-smile. He takes a few sips of his tea then sits the mug onto the end table beside the couch. He makes a sort of disgusted face as he settles back into the couch.

“Do you not like that flavor, Alec? I can make you something different,” Clary offers.

“No, no, it’s not that. Thanks though. I’m just a little nauseous.”

“When did that start?” Magnus asks.

Alec winces. He knows Magnus is going to be mad when he says, “Umm, after lunch?”

“After lunch?!?! Alexander, you promised to tell me if any new symptoms developed.”

“I know, I’m sorry. I just didn’t think it was a big deal.” He looks around the room at his family. “I don’t want you all to think I’m a hypochondriac or something. I can manage a head and stomach ache. We’ve got bigger things to worry about.”

“Alec, with what you’ve been through, these could be symptomatic of a larger issue. Pain is your body telling you something is wrong,” Izzy advises him. “We would never think that you’re overreacting about any of this. We want, no need, you to tell us these things.”

He sighs. “Thanks everybody. I appreciate all the love.”

Magnus moves over onto the couch with Alec. “Is there anything else we need to know?”

Alec decides to finally quit hiding all of his symptoms from his family. “Well...the room is spinning a little bit. I think maybe that’s what’s causing everything to be blurry…and do you all hear that high-pitched ringing sound?”

Magnus is indignant. “Alexander! No. Nobody hears a ringing sound! Lay down here.” Magnus grabs for Alec’s legs as Alec turns on the couch to lay down with his legs draped over Magnus’ lap. Magnus is nervously rubbing Alec’s legs while he tells Clary, “Bring me my cell phone please. It’s on the kitchen island.”

Clary jumps up from her chair, “Sure.” She’s back quickly and handing Magnus his phone. 

“Magnus, you don’t need to call…” Alec says as he starts to sit up.

Magnus stops his movement and shoots him a look that says ‘don’t argue with me’ as he informs him, “You don’t get a say in this. I’m calling a medical professional.”

“But…”

Izzy cuts him off this time. “No, Alec. Magnus is right. We’ve waited around long enough. We should have insisted that you see a doctor way before now so lay back, stop arguing and do what you’re told.”

“Fine,” Alec huffs as he lays back on the couch. He watches as Magnus dials a number on his phone then puts it up to his ear. Alec hears it ring twice then the person on the other end says “Magnus, hey.”

Magnus dispenses with the pleasantries and starts right in with, “Catarina, I need you to make a house call. Please.”


	26. If You Thought the Head Trauma was Bad...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts Filled: MIGRAINE and CONCUSSION
> 
> Chapter Tags: Continued Illness, Medical Jargon

* * *

  
“Well, hello to you too,” Catarina replies, a bit of irritation in her voice at Magnus’ command.

Magnus sighs into the phone. “I’m sorry, Cat. I didn’t mean to be so demanding. I should have said, ‘Are you busy? Do you have time to come to the house and examine Alec? His symptoms are getting worse and I’m really worried about him.’”

Catarina can hear the exhaustion and fear in his voice. Magnus has been keeping her updated about Alec’s situation. He had called her the night Alec was abducted. During their almost twenty-year friendship, she’d never heard him as distraught and emotional as he was then. She had immediately gone to his house and stayed with him that night and the next day. Over the years, Alec has also become a good friend to her, she was so relieved when Magnus had told her he was rescued and safe at home. It’s concerning to hear that his ailments are not getting any better. “Worse, how?” she asks Magnus.

“His headache will not go away; it’s only gotten more painful. Now he’s complaining of nausea, dizziness, blurred vision, and ringing in his ears. He’s being so stubborn…” he looks at Alec pointedly as he says that, “and he didn’t tell us any of this until right this moment.”

Alec pouts and mouths the word ‘sorry’ back to Magnus. Magnus rubs and pats his legs to let Alec know it’s alright.

“You’re in luck. I’m on duty in a couple of hours. I’ll head your way now then leave for the hospital from there.”

“We can’t thank you enough Catarina.”

“No thanks needed. I’d be upset if you didn’t let me help. I’ll see you in about fifteen minutes, okay?” she says.

“Okay, see you then.” Magnus disconnects the call and tells everyone that Catarina will be there shortly.

♦♦♦♦

Simon and his team have been planning in the conference room for a couple of hours when Officer Maia Roberts bursts into the room. “Sir, we just received communication from the surveillance team watching the Circle’s hideout in Sunset Park.”

The room goes still and quiet. “Which officer? What did they say?” Simon asks her.

“It was Johnson. He was monitoring the back of the house. The only thing we heard over the radio was ‘They’re on the move.’ Control has tried to reestablish contact with him but has been unsuccessful.”

Simon is concerned. This does not sound good. “And what about Anderson? Any word from him?”

“No sir. They have tried to contact him as well but no luck there either. A patrol car has been dispatched to the location. We’re waiting on their report now.”

“Good. I want to know immediately when the officer contacts us.”

“Yes, sir.” She leaves the room and the team continues to outline their plan to take down the Circle.

♦♦♦♦

Catarina knocks on the door of Magnus and Alec’s home promptly fifteen minutes later. Izzy opens the door for her and welcomes her in. “Hi Catarina. That you so much for coming. I really appreciate it.”

“It’s no problem Isabelle,” Catarina says as she steps into the foyer and gives Izzy a quick hug. She follows Izzy into the living room to find Alec laid out on the couch, looking a bit worse for wear, with his legs propped up on Magnus’ lap and an arm draped over his eyes. “Hi everybody,” she greets the room as a whole.

Magnus and Clary greet her with a pleased and simultaneous, “Hi Catarina.” They’re so glad she’s here so check on Alec.

Alec’s greeting is much less enthusiastic. He sighs a plaintive and resigned, “Hello Catarina” as she kneels down beside him. 

“Hmpf, you don’t sound so happy to see me,” she chastises him.

“You know I’m always happy to see you. I’m just not happy about the reason why you’re here. I’m really fine. You didn’t need to go out of your way to tell me I have a headache.”

Catarina visibly bristles and looks at him sternly. “Alexander Gideon Lightwood...”

Alec thinks, “Oh shit, I’m in for it now,” as he peeks at her from under his arm.

“…after all the years that we have known each other, when have I _ever_ given you the impression that helping my friends…no, my family…is ever me ‘going out of my way’? I would do anything within my power to help you all. You should know this and quite frankly, I’m offended that you would think otherwise.”

Alec moves his arm from across his eyes and takes Catarina's hand in his, “Ah, I’m sorry Cat. I didn’t mean it that way. Like Magnus said, I’m just being stubborn. I hate feeling like I’m weak and dependent on others.” 

Catarina squeezes Alec’s hand as she tells him, “Alec, you’ve been through a hellacious experience. You’re not weak or dependent, you’re injured. So, I’m going to do my best to help you heal, okay?”

Alec looks at her with tears forming in his sad eyes. A tear escapes as he looks at his friend and shakes his head in agreement and acceptance, “Yeah, okay.” He pulls Catarina into him as he raises his torso up off the couch so he can gather her into a hug. Catarina gently hugs him back. He lets her go and lays back down with an audible, “Oomph.”

“What’s that sound for?” Catarina asks him.

“Nothing really. The room’s just spinning a bit faster and my head is pounding. Guess I just sat up too quickly or something.”

“Yeah…or something,” she scoffs. “How about we try for a formal diagnosis instead of random guesses?”

“Yes, please!” Magnus answers in fervent agreement. 

“Fine,” Alec says with much less excitement, but still willing to work with Catarina.

Catarina gives a light laugh to Magnus’ exuberance. “Okay then. Alec, are you comfortable here or do you want to go somewhere more private?”

“If I don’t need to get naked for you to evaluate me, I’d just as soon stay here. I’m pretty comfortable.” He looks down his body at his husband and gives him a wink. 

“I don’t think we’ll have to expose anyone to that,” Cat laughs, “so I’m good here if you are.”

Alec just sighs in acquiescence and gives her a nod to start her examination. It doesn’t take her long to settle on a diagnosis. “Well, you’ve got a concussion, no doubt about it. To top it off, it seems that right at this moment, you have a migraine headache to go with it. Neither of those are fun, and together, much less so.”

“So, what do we do?” Magnus asks nervously.

Catarina addresses Alec when she says, “You rest. Physically and mentally, for a couple of days.” Alec starts to argue but she stops him short. “Don’t even start,” she shakes her head then continues. “You rest and let Magnus take care of you.” She turns to Magnus, “You watch him. If anything changes, call me or take him to the hospital. Make sure he takes ibuprofen every four to six hours for the headache and just keep him comfortable.”

Magnus agrees, “I can do that.” He rubs Alec’s legs.

“Izzy, Clary,” Catarina turns around to address them next, “Please make sure they both do as they’re told.”

“Yes, ma’am,” they both reply.

“Alright then. It seems everyone is good with their assignments, so I’ve got to go. My shift starts soon.” She gives Alec one last pat on the arm as she stands up and makes her way to the door. “I’ll check in with you later,” she tells Magnus. He nods his head in understanding then Cat opens the door and leaves for the night shift at the hospital. A chorus of “Thank you’s” following her out the door.


	27. Ok, Who Had Natural Disasters On Their 2020 Bingo Card?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt Filled: POWER OUTAGE
> 
> Chapter Tags: Guns, Mentions of Death and gunshot wounds
> 
> CSI = Crime Scene Investigator

* * *

  
It’s not twenty minutes later and Officer Roberts is back in the conference room with a report about the surveillance teams. “Sir, patrol has called in their report,” she says.

Simon and the team give her their full attention. “Go ahead.”

“Both Officers Anderson and Johnson were found dead at the scene, each with a single gunshot wound to the head. The Circle’s safe house has been deserted.”

“What of Detective Wayland? Did they recover his body?” Simon asks.

“No sir. There was no body to be recovered.”

Simon is shocked. “So, there’s a possibility that Jace may still be alive?”

“It appears that way sir, yes,” Maia replies.

“I want CSI agents dispatched now to investigate that house, from top to bottom. We need some clue that will give us an idea as to where they may have moved Jace. If we have a chance to save him, we can’t waste any more time.” 

Maia leaves with her orders to have the CSI team dispatched.

Simon addresses his officers. “This has officially changed to a rescue mission.”

Maia isn’t gone two minutes before she’s back in the conference room. “Officer Roberts, I thought I told you to have dispatch send a CSI team to Sunset Park,” Simon says before Maia can say anything.

“Yes, sir. I was relaying your order to dispatch when this anonymous tip came in,” Maia tells him. Everyone in the room is listening to Maia with rapt attention as she reads,

_“This is a message for Captain Lewis of the NYPD. Detective Wayland is alive, and I want to help him out of his current predicament. He is being held in Hunt’s Point in the old Idris Manufacturing warehouse. There are six men, including the detective, there now. I’m sure other men are on the way. I don’t know how much time you have to save him, so I suggest you do it quickly.”_

“Did we get a trace on the call?” Simon asks excitedly.

“It traced back to a liquor store in Melrose.” Maia is concerned. “What if it’s a trap?”

“It’s all we’ve got to go on right now. At this point, we have to assume it’s legit. Melrose is only about ten minutes away from Hunt’s Point so it makes sense that the anonymous caller, if they’re someone from the group that’s holding Jace, could get there easily. If we have a chance to save the detective, we have to take it. Officer Roberts, I want all available units to report here within the next thirty minutes for a briefing. We leave within the hour.”

♦♦♦♦

The sound of Izzy’s ringtone startles the quiet group. They’d been trying to relax, and make Alec rest, after Catarina left. “Oh, it’s Simon,” she announces as she answers the call. Everyone perks up and listens intently, hoping for an update on the mission to take down the Circle.

“Hold on, hold on,” she tells Simon. “You’re talking too fast. Wait a second, let me put you on speaker.”

Alec sits up and grabs Magnus’ hand, hoping that will calm some of his nerves. Magnus pats his hand, nods his head and whispers, “It’ll be alright.” Clary leans forward in her chair and Izzy stands up and moves to the center of the room.

Izzy tells Simon, “Okay, you’re on speaker. Alec, Magnus and Clary are here with me. Start over, slower this time.”

Simon huffs, “Iz, I don’t have time to slow down. We’ve got a break in the case. An anonymous tip just came in. The informant claims that Jace is alive and they told us where to find him. We’re gonna move out within the hour.”

Everyone jumps up from their seats and they all crowd around Izzy as she holds her phone in a shaky hand.

“How certain are you that it’s reliable information?” Alec asks.

“About fifty percent, but it’s all we’ve got right now.”

“Good enough for me!” Clary exclaims. “We’re on our way Simon.”

“No, Fray, you need to-“

Clary takes the phone from Izzy and presses ‘End Call’. She looks around the room. “Who’s coming with me?”

They arrive at the precinct within twenty minutes, much to Simon’s dismay. “I assume there’s no need in me wasting my breath asking you all to go back home?”

“Your assumption is correct,” Clary tells him, as she marches into the conference room.

Simon loves Clary but her stubborn streak exasperates him. “Fine. Come with me,” he says to the rest of them as he heaves a heavy sigh and shakes his head as they follow Clary into the room.

The table’s surface is littered with maps and blueprints. All eyes turn to Simon expectantly. “So, this anonymous tip, what exactly did it say?” Alec asks.

Simon repeats the message and Alec’s eyes go wide. “Simon, I think I know who the informant is. There was a guard, Underhill, who was really nice to me and Jace. It seemed like he was with the Circle against his will. He wasn’t like the rest of them. I think he made the call. He kept referring to his situation, and mine, as a ‘predicament’. It makes perfect sense to me that he would do this.”

“We were thinking it was probably someone from the inside, instead of an outside witness. It’s good to know that we may have a friend on the other side.”

“What’s the plan?” Clary asks him. 

“We’ve been in contact with Captain Garroway at the Bronx precinct. We’ll be in his jurisdiction but he’s going to let us lead the raid, he and his team are going to assist. Judge Herondale has already approved the warrant. Thanks to Magnus and Izzy greasing that wheel earlier, it was no problem getting the new one. We’re moving on the warehouse tonight, so we’ve got all of the night vision gear we’ll need. The plan is to surround the warehouse, with two layers of cover; one to watch the doors of the warehouse and one positioned a few hundred yards back to monitor the first. We don’t want a repeat of the first mission where our cover team was taken by surprise. Once everyone is in position, we’ll cut the power to the warehouse then descend on the building, hoping the darkness will make any kind of retaliation by the Circle almost impossible. We get in, find Jace, and hope we don’t get caught in a shoot-out. If we do though, we’ll be prepared. Ambulances will be standing by, just in case. Our objective is to save Jace with no casualties, only arrests, but we’re ready for anything.”

“Alright, where do you want me?” Clary asks.

Simon studies her for a moment then answers, “Here, with Izzy, Alec and Magnus.”

“WHAT?!?! No way! I’m going on the mission this time Simon!”

“Sorry, Fray, you’re not. I can smell the alcohol on your breath. We can’t have that kind of liability on the team. You stay here and monitor the coms. You’ll be able to hear everything.”

Clary sputters and tries to come up with a valid argument. Logically, she knows Simon is right, but in her heart, she needs to be there for Jace. She looks at her friends for some backup. Her eyes land on Magnus. All he does is shake his head and say, “Sorry, Biscuit. Simon’s right on this one. Besides, we’ll need you to interpret all the radio lingo for us.”

Alec and Izzy shake their heads as well. “You’re all traitors,” Clary tells them in a huff, then crosses her arms and pouts at them.

Simon gives Clary a quick hug, which she does not return, and a pat on the back. “Thank you.” He moves away from her and over to Izzy. He pulls her into a hug and tells her, “I’ve got to go now. I love you. See you after it’s over.” Sadly, Izzy nods her okay to him and watches him walk out of the room.

They hear Simon announce, “Load up,” and almost everyone in the squad room grabs their gear and their guns and files out of the precinct, on the way to rescue Detective Wayland.

♦♦♦♦

Valentine arrives at the warehouse about an hour after the transport from the house was completed. He’s brought four other associates with him. The last two hours have been spent interrogating Underhill, Aldertree and Pangborn about the move. For the most part, Valentine is happy with how it went. So they had to kill a couple of cops to make sure their new location wasn’t discovered. As far as he was concerned, that was just a cost of doing business. Business he wanted to get back to.

With that in mind, he’s set his sights on Jace. “Detective, I see you made it through the move in one piece. That’s good.”

Jace stares him down. “I’m surprised you give a shit.”

“I don’t, not really. But it’s easier to trade a live hostage for Dieudonne than it is a dead one.”

“Don’t you get it?” Jace asks. “They’re never going to let him go. He’s going to rot in a cell and if I have anything to say about, you’ll be rotting in the one right next to him.” That’s almost more words than Jace has said in the last two days combined. The effort makes him breathe harder. His punctured lung is still causing him problems. 

“You know what? I’m pretty fed up with you and your smart mouth,” Valentine sneers. “I should go ahead and put you out of your misery right now. We’ll get Dieudonne out another way.” He pulls his gun out of his waistband and levels it at Jace. At that moment, the lights go out in the warehouse and everything is cloaked in darkness. They hear the sound of a window breaking, then all hell breaks loose.


	28. Such Wow. Many Normal. Very Oops.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt Filled: ACCIDENTS
> 
> Trigger Warnings: Blood and Minor Character Deaths
> 
> Chapter Tags: Guns, Violence, Physical Harm

* * *

  
The sound of glass breaking must have been a window shattering when a tear gas canister was thrown through it. Gas begins to fill the area, choking Jace and the Circle members. That can only mean one thing, the police have found them. 

During the first thirty seconds after the power outage the tear gas continues to fill the area, more windows are broken, the two exterior doors are forced open with battering rams, gunfire begins and the emergency lighting in the warehouse blazes to life. Valentine quickly praises his foresight to keep all their safe houses fully operational in case of a situation exactly like this one. 

The lights reflect off the gas that has filled the room making it almost impossible to see without special goggles. As the police continue to pile into the warehouse amid commands of ‘On the ground, now!’, Valentine gropes for Jace in the fog, finding him fairly easily. Valentine coughs and sputters but somehow manages to yell, “If you want the detective to remain alive, I suggest you rethink your plan.”

Pangborn and four others close rank around Valentine to protect him from the police. They all stand with their backs to Valentine, facing away from him so they can see what’s coming. “Pangborn,” Valentine commands, “you stay here. The rest of you, see what you can do about our uninvited guests.” With that the four associates disperse into the chaos.

Underhill and Aldertree rush out of the upstairs offices onto the catwalk. The tear gas hasn’t risen up to their level yet so they can see down onto the warehouse floor below. They see that two teams of police have infiltrated the warehouse, entering from opposite sides of the building, and have already taken out a couple of their associates. Aldertree runs back into the office and returns to the catwalk with a semi-automatic rifle and begins to shoot at the police. Underhill just watches him in stunned silence. When Aldertree looks at him and yells, “Don’t just stand there! Do something!” Underhill does the only thing he can think of and lunges at Aldertree.

♦♦♦♦

As Simon and the police enter the warehouse, pandemonium ensues. There was an armed guard posted at each door to the warehouse that was dealt with and now the fog from the tear gas canisters still hangs in the air, making it difficult to see, even with the emergency lighting and night vision goggles. Simon hears Valentine’s threat from somewhere over towards the right. He signals for part of his team to go in that direction to try to find Jace. 

When he turns to direct the rest of the team, someone starts to shoot down into the warehouse from a catwalk above them to their left. Simon can barely make out what he thinks is a lone shooter as the fog starts to dissipate. He sees a staircase on the other side of the warehouse that leads up to the catwalk. He motions for his team to follow him - dodging bullets as best as they can - as they quickly make their way under the catwalk to get out of range of the shooter, and over to the stairs. 

Simon is the first officer up the stairs. He has his gun drawn, ready to take down the shooter, if necessary. When he's two steps away from the landing, he can see two individuals by the railing, one dark-haired and one light-haired, battling for control of a rifle. He wonders for a second if one of them is the man Alec told him about. The fight for the rifle continues as Simon tops the stairs and yells at the pair, “Police! Put the weapon down! Hands up!” The fight persists and Simon continues to yell warnings as his team files in around him.  


The dark-haired man seems to have the upper hand. He lands a few punches and tries to wrap up the blonde man in a choke hold. But before he can subdue the blonde, the blonde elbows the man in the chin then rams into him with his shoulder. The backwards momentum from the force of the blow causes the dark-haired man to topple over the railing, onto the concrete floor below. Underhill looks over the rail down to Aldertree’s body, blood pooling around it, then back to Simon with wide eyes. He holds up his hands and goes slowly down to his knees. He puts his hands behind his head and Simon goes over to him and cuffs him. As he’s being cuffed he tells Simon, “I didn’t mean for that to happen. I’ve had enough of guns, shooting and killing, I was just trying stop him. We fought and I pushed him off of me. It was an accident. I’m so sorry.”

“Save it for your official statement,” Simon tells him. “Right now, you’re under arrest.”

♦♦♦♦

By now the smoke has cleared and the results are evident. Luke’s team have subdued or killed four additional Circle members. Simon and his team have Underhill in custody, Aldertree is dead, as are the two door guards: their bodies littering the floor of the warehouse.

Luke and the other officers have Valentine and Pangborn cornered with Jace, who is tied to a chair. Valentine has Jace’s head pulled back by the hair and his handgun aimed at Jace’s head. “I will kill the detective right now if you take another step,” he tells Luke. 

Luke is calm as he tells him, “There’s no way out of this for you, Valentine. It’s over. You and your man put your guns down and step away from the detective.”

“If we don’t get Dieudonne, the detective isn’t leaving here alive,” says Pangborn.

Jace gives a cocky laugh and tells him, “Come on man, it’s over. The days of the circle are done. You’re ALL going to rot behind bars with Dieudonne so just give it up.”

Apparently, that is Pangborn’s last straw. He turns around to Jace and punches him in the face so hard Valentine loses his grip on him and the chair is toppled to the floor with Jace in it. Pangborn follows his punch with several kicks to Jace’s already injured ribs. Jace immediately starts to wheeze and cough up blood. Pangborn takes aim with his gun and says, “Now it’s over for you too.” A gun is fired and Pangborn’s lifeless body falls to the floor in front of Jace. 

“You’re next Valentine. Put down your weapon,” Luke commands. 

Valentine knows he’s outnumbered and outgunned. He’s always thought himself to be a smart man; normally the smartest in the room. A smart man would give up now, so that’s what he does. He slowly places his gun on the floor and straightens back up with his hands raised. Luke holsters his own weapon while the remaining officers keep their guns trained on Valentine. Luke walks over to Valentine, takes out his handcuffs and tells Valentine to turn around. Valentine complies. Luke grabs one of Valentine’s arms then the other and brings them down behind his back to put the handcuffs on. Before Luke can realize what’s happening, Valentine jerks free and pulls another pistol from behind his back. He turns in a flash to aim at Luke but the gun that fires does not belong to Valentine. As Valentine crumples into a heap on the floor near Pangborn, Luke looks to his side to see Officer Maia Roberts lower her weapon. Luke nods his thanks to Maia then all of the officers rush in to check on Jace and anyone else who may be injured.

♦♦♦♦

Clary, Izzy, Magnus and Alec have been sitting with the dispatch officers, listening over the radios to every step of the mission in real-time. They hear all of the gunfire and yelling and then the demand to release Dieudonne or Jace will be killed. They hear a single gunshot then Captain Garroway commanding Valentine to put down his weapon. The radio is silent for a minute then another single gunshot. The last communication that comes from the scene is Simon saying, “Dispatch, send the ambulances to this location now. We have officers down. Detective Wayland may not have much longer.”


	29. I Think I Need A Doctor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts Filled: INTUBATION and EMERGENCY ROOM
> 
> Chapter Tags: Medical Jargon, Injuries

* * *

  
During the wait for the ambulances, Simon and Maia, cut the ropes that are holding Jace to the chair. They lay him gently back onto the floor, resting his head in Simon’s lap. He and Jace have never been the ‘touchy-feely’ kind of friends but he’s pushing Jace’s hair back from his face and telling him, “Hey, you’re gonna be alright. The ambulance is on its way. We’re gonna get you to the hospital and you’ll get fixed up, good as new.” He laughs a small laugh before he says, “We won’t be able to stand you, you’ll feel so good when they’re done with you.” 

Jace can only look up at Simon with scared eyes and shake his head. He’s not so sure he believes everything will be alright. It certainly doesn’t feel that way at the moment. His condition has worsened considerably. He’s gasping for air and sweating.

Thankfully, that’s when the ambulances arrive in a whirl of lights and sirens. It only took them about ten minutes to get there but it’s been the longest ten minutes of Jace’s and Simon’s lives. The EMTs rush into the building carrying equipment and rolling in gurneys. Simon yells for them to come tend to Jace. “Over here guys! He’s the most critical.”

The EMTs race across the warehouse to Jace. The first tech to reach them kneels down next to him and tells Simon, “I don’t like his color at all. What happened?”

Simon only notices Jace’s pale, bluish skin tone at that moment. “I’m not 100% sure. He has some injuries that happened before today.” Alec had told them about what happened to Jace when he had been with him so Simon relays that information to the EMT. “As far as I know, he’s got a broken rib and a possible punctured lung. He also has a gunshot wound that’s from earlier today. He took a couple pretty good kicks to his ribs just now and I’m thinking the punctured lung is a definite thing now.”

“Yeah, I’d say you’re right.” The tech looks to his partner and says, “Let’s get him up on the gurney and into the rig. We can intubate him on the way to the hospital.”

“Which hospital are you taking him to?” Simon asks.

“General. They’ve got the best trauma surgeons.”

“Okay.” Simon thinks for a second then asks, “Can I ride with him?”

“Sure,” they tell him.

While they’re getting Jace situated on the gurney Simon finds Luke. “Can you take care of things here? I need to go to the hospital with Detective Wayland, he’s family.”

“Of course. I’ve got it under control. We’ll wrap up here in a while and I’ll get with you later to debrief. I hope he’s okay.”

“Thank you, Luke. For your help with the mission and dealing with…” Simon waves his hand to indicate the area around them, “all of this.”

“Hey, that’s what we do. We help each other out. Looks like they’re loading Wayland into the ambulance now. You better get going.”

Simon shakes Luke’s hand and tells him, “Again, thank you. I’ll be in touch,” then makes his way over to the ambulance. He climbs in the back and sits alongside of the gurney. He does his best to stay out of the EMT’s way so they can work on Jace. When the ambulance starts to move it occurs to him that he should probably call Izzy. She’ll want to know that Jace is still alive and which hospital he will be taken to. He fishes his phone out of his pocket and dials her number. She answers after the first ring and doesn’t even let Simon begin to speak.

“Oh my god, Simon! Are you okay? What about Jace? What happened? We heard the call for the ambulance.”

“Slow down, Izzy. I’m fine. Put me on speaker so I can tell everyone at once, okay.”

Izzy motions to Alec, Magnus and Clary to gather around her. “Okay, we’re all here and you’re on speaker, now answer my questions!”

“I’m in the ambulance with Jace. He’s alive. I’m not a doctor but I’m almost positive his punctured lung has gotten a lot worse. He was kicked a few times in his ribs. They’ve got him intubated now but say he’s going to need immediate surgery to fix it.”

“Which hospital?” Magnus asks.

“General. We should be there within the next fifteen minutes.”

“Good. We’ll meet you there,” Alec says.

“Okay, see you in a few.” 

The call disconnects and Izzy looks around the room. Her eyes land on Clary, whose face is white as a sheet. Izzy pulls her into a hug and gently says, “He’s alive. They’re going to save him and everything is going to be okay.”

Clary just shakes her head. “I don’t know about that. He’s been injured and without proper medical care for so long, what if the damage is too bad? What if they can’t fix it?”

Magnus goes over to her and grabs her arms. “General has the best doctors and surgeons in the area…and I’m not just saying that because Catarina is there. They work miracles there every day.”

She looks at Magnus with hope-filled eyes and says, “Yeah, okay, you’re right.” She takes a deep, cleansing breath then says, “Well, what are we waiting for? If we leave now, we might beat the ambulance there.”

Izzy agrees. “Right. Let’s go then.” They all compose themselves then leave for the hospital.

They arrive at the Emergency Room just as the EMTs are wheeling Jace’s gurney into the building. Catarina stops them at the door as they try to follow them in. “I’m sorry but they won’t let you back with him right now. They’re going to take him straight to surgery.”

“But Catarina, I need to see him now,” Clary cries. 

“I’m sorry, there’s no time,” Catarina says. She watches as Alec and Magnus hold on to Clary and comfort her as she cries. “Alec...you should be at home resting. You’re going to exacerbate your own condition if you don’t _rest_.”

Alec shakes his head in disagreement. “I can rest later, Catarina. I need to be here for my family. I’ll be fine.”

She can tell Alec has made up his mind and is not going to leave here until he knows Jace is alright. She sighs in defeat. “Fine. Come with me and I’ll take you all to the family waiting area for surgery patients. When we get there, Alec, I want you to just sit still and try to be calm.”

Alec decides he can give her that much. “I promise, I will. Now, please, let’s go.” 

Izzy is looking around frantically. “Wait, where’s Simon?” she asks. “He was in the ambulance with Jace wasn’t he?”

“I’m here, Izzy.” Izzy’s whips around and she sees Simon coming from around the back of the ambulance. She rushes to him and pulls him into a hug, her arms encircling his waist while he wraps his arms around her shoulders. 

“Are you alright?” she asks him.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just worried about Jace.”

“They’re taking him to surgery now. Catarina is going to show us to the waiting area.” She takes Simon’s hand and turns to Catarina, “Okay, Catarina. Lead the way.”


	30. Now Where Did That Come From?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts Filled: WOUND REVEAL and IGNORING AN INJURY
> 
> Trigger Warning: Blood
> 
> Chapter Tags: Medical Jargon and Procedures, Loss of Consciousness

* * *

  
They arrive at the waiting area and Catarina tells them, “I’ll make sure someone gives you periodic reports on what’s happening with Jace. There are vending machines just down the hall if you want anything like that. I’ll be back to check on you in a little bit.”

Magnus walks her to the waiting room door. “Thank you, Cat. I’m so glad Jace is here. I know he’ll get the best care possible.”

“He will. I hate to leave you all here, but I’ve got to get back to the ER. I’m one of two doctors that are working tonight. I’ll come back as soon as I can.”

Magnus pulls her into a hug and tells her “Thank you” again. She pulls away from him, nods to the group and leaves them alone in the quiet of the waiting room.

Izzy is sitting with Simon on one of the chairs that is made for two people. She takes his hands in hers and asks, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

He pats her hand reassuringly, “Don’t worry about me. Let’s focus on Jace. I’m sure you all want to know what happened?” he questions them.

“Yes,” Alec answers, “but only If you feel up to telling us.” 

Magnus walks up beside Alec and takes his hand. They walk over to where Clary is seated and sit beside her. Magnus takes her hand in his empty one.

“Yeah, it’s not a problem. If this is too much for any of you, tell me and I’ll stop. I’ll try to leave out the worst parts.” He doesn’t hear any protests, so he begins. He tells them of cutting the power then infiltrating the warehouse then of Underhill and his accidental killing of a Circle member.

Alec interjects at that part, “I knew Underhill was one of the good guys. Who was the Circle member?”

“When I left they were just beginning to clear the scene and identify bodies so I don’t know his name. He had dark hair, was wearing a well-tailored suit…”

“Ah.” Alec sighs with recognition. “Aldertree is his last name. He was the one in charge of the crew that captured me. What will happen to Underhill? Is he dead?”

“No, he’s not dead. He’s been arrested. He’ll go through the normal legal process.”

“Oh,” is all Alec says after that.

Simon continues his recount of the events. “While I was dealing with the Underhill situation, Captain Garroway and his team were handling the other Circle members. My team joined up with theirs and we all cornered Valentine and his right-hand man, who were looming over Jace. I’m sure you heard most everything else over the radio. I stayed with Jace until the ambulances came, tried to keep him comfortable. Rode here with him in the ambulance, watched them intubate him and hoped he’d make it out of this alright.”

Izzy pulls Simon into a hard hug. She squeezes him tight around his shoulders and unexpectedly, Simon winces in pain and hisses as pain shoots down his arm. “Simon, what is it? Are you okay?” Izzy asks. As she pulls away from him, she sees blood on her shirt sleeve. “Simon! You’re bleeding!” 

Simon looks calmly at his arm then at Izzy. “Oh, I guess I was just so focused on the mission and then on Jace I didn’t notice. Now that the adrenaline has worn off, I can definitely feel it. I bet one of Aldertree’s bullets grazed me. I’ll get it looked at later.”

“The hell you will!” Clary yells. “I’m calling for a nurse right now!” She picks up the in-house phone that’s on a side table and dials for the operator. Not ten minutes later, Catarina and a nurse enter the waiting room. 

“I hear I have another patient?” she asks.

Simon holds up his hand and waves at her, “That’d be me. It’s really just a scratch though.”

She and the nurse walk over to Simon. “We’ll be the judge of that. Can you take your arm out of your shirt?”

“Sure,” he answers as he does as he’s asked. Catarina takes one look at his arm, then looks to the nurse. “This is going to need several layers of stitches.” The nurse shakes her head in agreement. “Alright, Captain. Come with us,” Catarina tells Simon. He doesn’t argue, knowing it would be useless. Izzy gives him a kiss and he follows the nurse out the door.

Before Catarina can follow them, Alec stops her. “Catarina? Any news on Jace?” he asks hopefully. 

“They were able to insert a chest tube into the punctured lung. That helped him immensely. Next, they’ll drain any excess fluid from the lung then repair the lung tissue. Depending on how bad the broken rib is, they may have to surgically correct that with plates and screws. Someone had stitched up the gunshot wound on his shoulder but they’re going to reopen the wound, clean it well and put in internal sutures if needed then close it back up. Looks like his nose was also broken so they’ll reset that as well. So far, he’s doing okay but he’s not out of the woods yet. I’ll update you when I know more.” She looks at them all somberly then leaves them again.

“Goddammit!” Alec roars after she leaves. He punches his fist onto the arm of the chair and leaps to his feet. He starts pacing around the waiting room, stressed to the max.

Magnus can see the frustration and guilt all over Alec’s face. He stands from his seat next to Clary and goes to his husband. He grabs his arm to stop his pacing and pleads, “Alexander, why don’t you sit back down? All this stress isn’t good for you.”

“I’ve told you before, I’m fine. I need Jace to be alright. I can’t just sit here, I need to do something.” So he starts pacing the floor again in agitation. 

“Darling, please, sit down. You promised Catarina you’d sit still and be calm. You’re getting all worked up.” 

Alec's voice catches because he’s on the verge of tears and he’s almost hysterical. “Of course I am! I can’t sit down and be calm. My brother is having surgery to try to save his life from injuries he received because he tried to save me!” He smacks himself in the chest for emphasis. He gesticulates wildly as he continues, “Which just proves my point, this is all my fault! Jace might die and now even Simon is injured! When is this nightmare going to end, huh?” He pauses his tirade for a second and shakes his head. “And when is this FUCKING headache going to stop and…” he halts his pacing and sways on his feet, when he continues his words begin to slur, “and when is this room…” 

Magnus is beside him immediately, “Alexander, look at me. Look at me. What’s wrong?” 

He looks at Magnus with glassy eyes and mumbles, “…and when is this room going to stop…spin-?” His eyes roll back in his head and his legs give out. Magnus reaches out and catches him before he hits the floor.


	31. The "Eventual Happy Ending"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want you to know that the official Whumptober theme for today was "Today's Special: Torture." I think we've all been through enough this month (so have the characters) so I used an alternate prompt instead. ;)
> 
> Alt Prompt: CARRY/SUPPORT
> 
> Chapter Tags: Loss of Consciousness, Medical Jargon and Procedures, Injuries
> 
> PTSD = Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder  
>   
> 

* * *

  
When Alec faints, Magnus catches him in his arms and scoops his legs up into a bridal-style carry. “Clary, call the nurse’s station! Izzy, get the door!” he commands them both.

Clary immediately dials the phone and tells the nurse what happened. Izzy jumps up from her seat, runs to the door and holds it open for Magnus. Magnus is mumbling half to Alec, half to himself as he carries his unconscious husband down the hall towards the nurse’s station, “See, this is why I told you to calm down. You’re so stubborn. Now look at you, passed out, who knows what’s happening in that head of yours. You better hope you haven’t done more damage to yourself or I swear…”

At that moment, Catarina with two nurses and a gurney come rushing around the corner and down the hall towards him. “What happened?” she asks him. They stop when they meet Magnus and Magnus gently lays Alec onto the gurney.

“He was in a frenzy after you left. Talking about how everything was his fault. Then he complained about his head still hurting and the room spinning then he just…went limp.”

“Oh ho ho, when he wakes up…Ohhhh, he’s gonna hear from me why following doctor’s orders are imperative when you have a head injury!”

“So you think he’s going to wake up?” Magnus asks her nervously as he brushes Alec’s hair out of his face.

“Yes, I feel sure he’s going to be fine,” she reassures Magnus. “He just overdid it. His system has been in overdrive for days, with hardly any break. He just needs time. We’ll run some tests to make sure though.”

Magnus looks at Catarina with earnest eyes, “Can I stay with him?”

“Of course. Come with us.”

“Where are we going?” Alec’s voice asks weakly. Magnus looks down at Alec with wide eyes and squeezes his hand in his.

“You’re awake,” Magnus says with relief.

“Yeah, but where am I?”

Catarina speaks up then, “You’re where I hoped you _wouldn’t_ end up.”

Alec looks at her, “Oh, um…Hi Catarina??”

“Mmmhmm,” she hums as she purses her lips at him. “You get a pass this time because I know you’re only here because you’re worried about Jace but if you ever ignore my medical advice again, for anything, I don’t care if it’s only a hangnail, there is going to be HELL to pay.”

Alec winces. “Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry.” He looks at Magnus then, “I really am sorry. So sorry I’ve put you through all of this.”

Magnus just shakes his head at him. “How many times Alexander, do I have to tell you it’s not your fault? I don’t want to hear you say that again. I’m serious.”

Alec just squeezes Magnus’ hand in acceptance. He looks back at Catarina and jokes, “So am I gonna get some medicine for this splitting headache or what??”

Catarina gives him a small laugh, “Yes, you are. We’re taking you down to a treatment room now so enjoy the ride.”

“Yeah, I believe I will.” He closes his eyes and keeps ahold of Magnus’ hand as Magnus walks beside the gurney. He knows he’s in good hands here; Jace and Simon are too so he takes a deep breath and lets himself be cared for.

♦♦♦♦ 

After undergoing a CT scan, Alec is admitted to the hospital and set up in a private room. Magnus is with him when Catarina comes in to go over his test results. 

“So, what’s the verdict?” Alec asks her. Magnus is standing beside the bed and reaches down to take Alec’s hand.

“I was right, you have a concussion. There is no bleeding or swelling of your brain, which is great news. We are going to keep you overnight for observation and give you some supportive care.”

“Supportive care? What does that mean?” Magnus inquires.

“IV fluids, pain medication…and REST. If all goes well, you’ll probably get to go home tomorrow.”

Alec nods his head in understanding and asks, “What’s happening with Simon now?”

“Simon is doing fine,” says Izzy as she and Simon enter Alec’s room. Simon has his arm in a sling but overall looks to be doing well.

“Yeah, I’m good. I got stitched up and discharged. They gave me some pain meds for a few days, if I need them. How are you feeling?”

“I’m alright. Hopefully I’ll be back home tomorrow.”

Izzy crosses the room to stand beside her brother’s bed. She kisses him on the head and pats his arm. “Do you want us to bring you anything from home? PJs, fuzzy blanket, book, anything?” she asks him.

“No, I think I’ll be alright for one night. Thanks though,” he tells her with a small smile.

She turns her focus towards Magnus next. “I assume you’ll be staying here tonight. Do you need anything?”

“You know, if you don’t mind, I need…” he starts to list off several things then changes his mind. “You know what? No, I’m good. I don’t need anything. It’s only for one night.”

“You’re sure?” Izzy questions as she raises her eyebrows and cocks her head at Magnus. She knows how much he usually ‘needs’ to get ready for bed on a normal day.

Magnus laughs because he knows what Izzy is thinking. “I’m positive.”

All heads turn as Clary comes into the room. “Hey, Alec. How you feeling?”

“I’ll be alright, thanks,” he smiles at her. “Have you gotten an update on Jace?”

“Yes, I just did. He’s out of surgery. He made it through fine, no complications.”

Everyone sighs with relief. “That’s wonderful news,” says Magnus.

Catarina pulls up Jace’s chart on her tablet. “Looks like he should be settled in the room next door within the hour. He’ll probably be pretty out of it for the rest of the night as the anesthesia wears off. In addition to the repair of his lung, they did have to use a small plate and some screws to fix the broken rib. The gunshot wound should heal fine. He's expected to make a full recovery.”

Clary has been listening intently as Catarina has reported on Jace’s surgeries. “How long do you think he’ll be here?” she asks.

“Well, he’s going to have a chest tube for a few days, to give the lung the chance to recover from the trauma. He’ll also be on supportive care; IV fluids, antibiotics and pain medications. Jace is strong. I’m going to say he’ll be here 7 to 10 days. We’ll monitor him closely and as soon as he’s able to go home, we’ll discharge him.” 

Alec sniffles and wipes away a tear. “Thank you, Catarina. For everything. If I could hug you right now, I would.”

Catarina laughs. “An IV and a hospital bed isn’t gonna stop me from gettin’ a hug.” She puts down the rail on the side of the bed and leans over to hug Alec tightly. He hugs her back with the arm that doesn’t have the IV in it. She gives him a quick peck on the cheek and a smile. “It’s all going to be okay.” She pulls away from him and replaces the bedrail. “Alright, I’m going to make sure they get Jace settled. If you all need anything, don’t hesitate to call the nurse. I’ll check on you later.” She waves goodbye as she leaves the room.

It's not long before a nurse comes in to tell them that Jace is settled. He’s sleeping but he’s doing well. Clary, Izzy and Simon go over to Jace’s room to check on him. Clary stays with Jace but Izzy and Simon report back to Magnus and Alec that Jace really is doing alright. 

“That’s great news. I’ll go over a little later,” says Magnus.

Izzy goes over to the bed, pats Alec on the shoulder and studies his face. “If it’s okay with you, now that I know you’re both okay and have great nurses taking care of you,” she pauses to look at Magnus, “I’m going to get my own patient home so he can rest too.”

“Of course, Iz.” Alec looks at Simon. “You be a better patient than I’ve been, okay?”

Simon laughs. “Yeah, okay. You take it easy tonight Alec. We’ll be back in the morning.”

Magnus gets up from his seat beside the bed and goes around to give Izzy and Simon each a hug goodbye. He walks them to the door then closes it after they’re gone.

He leans back against the door and sighs. “God, what a day.”

Alec replies, “Huh, yeah. That’s an understatement.” 

Magnus crosses the room and asks with an indicating nod of his chin, “You think there’s room for me in that bed with you?”

“Like you even have to ask. Come ‘ere.” Alec slides over to make room. 

Magnus takes off his shoes and before he climbs in behind his husband he asks, “You’re sure? I can have them bring in one of those reclining chairs.”

“Magnus, if you don’t get in this bed right now, I swear, when we get home, you’re sleeping on the couch.”

“Ok, ok, you talked me into it.” Magnus laughs as he curls up around Alec and holds him tight. “I love you so much.” Magnus brushes Alec’s hair back from his face then gives him a kiss on his temple.

“And I love you too. Thank you for being here with me, and for me.”

“I wouldn’t be anywhere else. Now let’s, please, try to get some sleep.”

Alec agrees and it’s not long before they’re both gently snoring. They’re a little cramped being cuddled up together in the single hospital bed, but they wouldn’t have it any other way.  


* * *

  
**EPILOGUE**

It’s been three months, since Jace was rescued. During that time, Alec and Simon have completely healed, physically. Alec still has some PTSD, which is to be expected, but every day is a little bit better. Jace is fighting his own battle with PTSD too, but with his family’s help, he’s making it through. He was released from the hospital after nine days. He has now finished the physical therapy that helped him get his strength back after being “down” for so long, and is getting ready to return to active duty next week. 

Today though, is Andrew Underhill’s criminal sentencing hearing. During his initial hearing, Underhill pleaded guilty to the crimes that he committed when he was with the Circle and he accepted the plea bargain that was offered by the state. Over the last three months, Underhill has helped the NYPD systematically expose, dismantle and eliminate The Circle Crime Syndicate. All of its members have been either jailed or, regrettably, killed. Underhill is the last pseudo-member to face sentencing.

The court bailiff announces, “All rise for the Honorable Judge Alec Lightwood.” Everyone in the courtroom stands to their feet: Underhill and his attorney; Izzy and Magnus at the prosecutor’s table; Simon, Clary, Jace and the rest of the gallery. Alec enters from a door behind the bench and takes his seat. The bailiff commands, “You may be seated.”

After everyone takes their seats, Alec begins by addressing Underhill, who is looking at him with a shocked expression on his face. “Mr. Underhill, I can tell that you’re surprised to see me.”

Underhill stutters a bit, “Um, yes…yes, Your Honor. I was told Judge Herondale would be handling my trial.”

“You are correct. Judge Herondale will still be the official judge of record, but she has granted me permission to explain the details of the sentencing to you. If that is agreeable to you, your attorney, and the state’s representatives, I will continue.”

Underhill confers with his attorney, who then replies, “The defense agrees.”

Alec looks at Magnus and Izzy. Izzy says, “The state agrees.”

“Good. As the first order of business, I would like to ask the defendant a question.”

Underhill stands as Alec addresses him. “Yes, sir.”

“Can you confirm that it was you who left the anonymous tip that led to the successful mission to save Detective Wayland?” 

Underhill is speechless for a moment. He looks at his attorney who nods for him to continue. “I did, yes sir, but I don’t want any credit for that. I deserve to be punished for the things I’ve done.”

“And how were you able to make the call without being noticed?”

“I told them I was going to the liquor store. No one questioned it. We had just moved to the warehouse and there was no alcohol there. Those guys drank like fish on most days, so they were just happy I volunteered to go. The store clerk let me use the phone.” 

“Ah. I see.” Alec makes some notes on a page in front of him. “Another question that has been bothering me is how did you end up involved in the Circle to begin with?”

“Well, it’s not a very glamorous story. My partner got very sick. He had insurance but the medical debt was just too much for us to overcome. We were going to lose our house if I didn’t do something.” He chuckles a little bit before he says, “I’m no Walter White...so I did the only thing I could think to do, offered up my services to the Circle in exchange for them paying off all of the debt. The monetary debt was paid, so I was “working off” my debt to the Circle.”

Alec voices his understanding with a “Hmmm,” and nods his head as he makes some additional notes. He looks to Magnus and Izzy and they each give him the signal to continue. He puts his pen down, clasps his hands together then rests them on the bench in front of him. “Taking all of that into consideration, and everything you did for me while I was being held captive, in addition to the care you showed to Detective Wayland while he was a hostage, an agreement with the state has been made. Granted to you, Andrew Underhill, is complete immunity and you are absolved of any crimes you may have committed while under the influence of the Circle Crime Syndicate. Your anonymous tip and all of the detailed information you have provided over the last several weeks has led to the complete destruction of one of the worst crime rings this city has ever known. New York will be a much safer place because of you.”

Underhill looks around the room in stunned silence. He sees Clary sitting with Jace and Simon, and Izzy and Magnus at the table across from his. They are all smiling back at him. He asks his attorney, “Is this real?” The attorney just nods and smiles to him in encouragement. He looks at Alec, “Judge Lightwood…I…I don’t know what to say.” 

“There’s nothing to say. Your actions have saved the lives of countless individuals, myself included. All there is to say is, “Thank YOU...and, court adjourned.” Alec bangs his gavel on the bench and the room erupts into applause. 

Izzy and Magnus go over to Underhill first. Izzy hugs him tight. When she releases him she has tears in her eyes and tells him, “Thank you for being there for my brothers when they needed someone the most.”

Magnus is next. He shakes Underhill’s hand then pulls him in for a hug too. “I don’t know what I would have done if I would have lost him.” He looks up to Alec then back to Underhill. “Thank you, for everything.”

Clary and Jace follow. Clary grabs him into a big hug and when she pulls away, she, too, has tears in her eyes. “Jace told me how you took care of him and tried to protect him and Alec. Thank you is not enough.”

Underhill can’t believe what is happening. “I don’t deserve…” 

Jace cuts him off, “You do. Just accept the thanks.” 

Underhill nods his head as Alec comes over. “Judge, I really don’t deserve this. I was just trying to do some good to offset the bad.”

Alec waves off his protests. “Please, call me Alec. And it was the right thing to do, so stop complaining and enjoy it. I’m not exaggerating when I say you have helped to save countless lives. Now you can be back with your family and live your life without the threat of the Circle hanging over you.”

Underhill offers his hand to Alec to shake. Alec takes it then pulls him in for a hug. When they pull apart Alec takes Underhill by the shoulders and says, “I can’t say it enough. What you did for me and for Jace probably saved our lives so Thank You.”

It finally sinks in to Underhill that he’s free and everything he’s done to try to make up for the horrible things that happened actually did make a difference. He looks at all the smiling faces gathered around him, smiles back and says, “Okay then…you’re welcome.” 

With that, they all laugh then leave the courtroom, never having to worry about the Circle again.  
  
_Fine (The End)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, first multi-chapter fic. I can’t believe it came together the way it did. Thank you to everyone who stuck with me every day. To those of you who commented throughout the month, I can’t tell you how much your comments meant. They kept me motivated and inspired. Your reactions everyday gave me so much joy, it was like experiencing the story from a readers point of view and it was amazing for me. So again, THANK YOU so much to everyone who read and left a comment or kudo. This was a great adventure for me and I hope it was a good one for you too. Much love and stay safe. <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!!! I appreciate every kudo and/or comment. <3


End file.
